1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



485 



men work ; and the conlrast is so wonderfully 

 strong, that, compared with the great part of 

 the workshops and factories in our land, it 

 startles one. The proprietors evidently, in 

 planning for their works, chose a part of the 

 city where they could have plenty of room. 

 In fact, the whole institution covers several 

 acres. Instead of trying to make every foot of 

 space available for business, there is a front 

 yard of beautiful velvety lawn beds of flowers, 

 and beautifully kept shrubbery, that would 

 grace the finest dwelling. Then there are 

 walks of sawed stone flagging, wagon roads of 

 asphalt pavement, and, more wonderful still, 

 the little cottages that surround the grounds 

 seem to have caught the spirit from the big 

 establishment, for they too are models of artis- 

 tic beauty. Their little lawns, flower-beds, 

 and shrubbery, are in very good keeping with 

 the great establishment itself. In the back- 

 ground, away from the main street, behind 

 the factories, there is a boys' garden. It is 

 divided off into plots of a rod or two in extent, 

 and I am told prizes are awarded to the boy 

 who shows the neatest design in gardening on 

 a small scale. Many of these little plots are 

 models of neatness and care ; but others show 

 symptoms of neglect. You see, boys are not 

 all ah'ke. At some future time I may describe 

 the inierior of this group of factories, for I 

 had a warm invitation to do so. 



HOMES, 



BY A. I. RO OT. 



Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I 

 say unto thee, E.xcept a man be born again, he can not 

 see the kingdom of God. — John .3 :3. 



The matter that is in my mind to-day, dear 

 friends, was suggested by the following letter: 



I love the philosophy of Gleanings. Knowledge 

 is power. Your success in bee culture is the measure 

 of your wisdom in that line, and it is great; it is good. 

 I love Nature. Nature is truth. Any thing not of 

 Nature is not true. The theology of Gleanings I do 

 not believe in, because I can not ignore all Nature and 

 believe a dream. The story of Christ is unnatural, 

 and begins with a dream, consequently is not true. 



Church and state ought to be separate, so had busi- 

 ness and religion. The story of Christ contradicts 

 itself as well as contradict- Nature. Notice how your 

 text in Gle.anings, May 1.5, contradicts the character 

 of Christ given in other parts of the New Testament 

 as being humble, meek, merciful, etc. Matt. 10:34, 

 "Think not that I am come to send peace on the 

 earth. I came not to send peace but a sword." Then 

 read the 3.5th ver.se. Dear me! how can I believe such 

 to be the word of God? Samuel Clough. 



Ellston, la. 



Friend C, I thank you for your very kind 

 words in your opening paragraph ; but your 

 next sentence makes me feel sad, particularly 

 as it is very much in the line I was in the 

 habit of talking before I accepted Christ Jesus 

 as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. 

 I too, dear brother, love Nature. When some- 

 body asked me, ' ' What is the most important 

 thing in succeeding with bees, strawberries, 

 and other rural industries ? " I replied that 

 the most important thing to my mind was to 

 love the things in question. The successful 



strawberry- grower should love the strawberry- 

 plant and every thing about it — its thrifty 

 foliage, its beautiful white roots, its enterpris- 

 ing runners, and its strong disposition to per- 

 petuate itself and to make plants — as well as 

 to love the beautiful fruit it gives us. Such a 

 love is right and proper ; and when it comes 

 from loving God, the great giver of all these 

 gifts, it is far better still ; and in one sense I 

 admit that Nature may return this affection. 

 The things we love, thrive and prosper, 

 whether it be bees, a calf, a colt, or a straw- 

 berry-plant. In one sense Nature seems to 

 respond — at least in a certain way — and return 

 the aflfection we lavish upon her creatures. 

 But Nature is nothing, or comparatively noth- 

 ing, without humanity. Nature of herself is 

 hard and unfeeling. I once saw a comrade 

 drowned before my eyes. After he had gone 

 down for the last time the water rippled over 

 the place where he disappeared, as if nothing 

 at all had happened. Nature was so unfeel- 

 ing, and so oblivious to the tragedy that had 

 just been enacted, that it seemed horribly 

 cruel and unfeeling just then. No human 

 being was near. I was alone with the dead, 

 for I knew he must be dead before help could 

 be obtained to rescue him. Nature cares 

 nothing for our woes. 



Again, Nature makes no progress. It is 

 unnatural to milk our cows, to make butter or 

 cheese; for Nature must be diverted from her 

 natural channels in order to do this. If I 

 worship Nature to such an extent that I dis- 

 dain human progress, I should have to lay 

 aside my spectacles ; and I have sometimes 

 tried to imagine what a helpless creature I 

 shottld be without my glasses, especially when 

 I go to church and happen to leave them in 

 my other suit. 



You say Nature is truth. I admit that 

 Nature does not tell falsehoods ; but neither 

 does she tell us any thing, or comparatively 

 nothing, without artificial aids. How much 

 progress could we make in astronomy without 

 these artificial helps? 



When we feel disgusted about the hypocrisy 

 and cheat that we sometimes see among men, 

 I know how natural it is to turn to Nature ; 

 and I know, too, how the feeling comes that 

 leads us to say that in Nature there is no 

 hypocrisy. But, dear brother, if there were 

 not a possibility of falsehood you could hardly 

 have a fair conception of truth. After we 

 have been forced into the companionship of a 

 man who is so much in the habit of telling lies 

 that he uses falsehood when truth would do a 

 good deal better, we are prepared to appreciate 

 a good honest straight man when we meet 

 him. I love Christian people ever so much 

 more after having been obliged to be in the 

 company of those who profane God's holy 

 name. When Robinson Crusoe was on his 

 island, and saw no human beings at all, his 

 companionship was entirely with Nature. He 

 met nothing but " truth " then, as you put it ; 

 and yet we know how gladly he welcomed a 

 human being for a companion, even though 

 this human being was a heathen and a canni- 

 bal. Humanity is often bad, I grant you; but 

 I think it is a thousand times better than no 



