1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



623 



seven-top turnips; how to make them blossom 

 for the bees, when desired; their 

 value for pasture, etc. 

 I have had quite an experience with them. I have 

 sown them for years for pasture and fertilizing, and I 

 believe the bloom can be obtained in August, or any 

 month after that it naturally blooms. I have kept it 

 back for six weeks by letting my sheep graze it off. 

 I will try it next year, and see how long it can be kept 

 back, and then bloom. O. Gleason. 



^ Volney, Mich., July 14. 



THE PORTER APPLE. 



Friend Root: — On my place in Granger, Medina Co., 

 some ten years ago, I had several trees of the Porter, 

 which gave very abundant crops, and I always consid- 

 er it a fine apple; but the reason I think it has not 

 been generally planted is because its time of ripening 

 is about the same as that old standby and well-known 

 apple Queen Ann, which it resembles very much in 

 shape and size, and time of ripening, but differs in 

 color and flavor. Which is the better apple I think 

 will depend on the taste of the eater. When I had 

 Porters in abundance I wanted the Queen Ann, 

 which was my favorite when I was a boy; but now 

 when I have plenty of Queen Anns I should like very 

 much to have some of those Porters, such as I used to 

 have. I do not think either apple can be ahead of the 

 Maiden's Blush or Gravenstein as a fall apple. My 

 brother said that, at the experiment station, the Maid- 

 en's Blush was the most profitable apple they have in 

 their orchard at any season Its handsome appear- 

 ance pleases the grocers, and it cooks so nice it pleases 

 the women; but for quality I don't believe that any 

 fall apple can equal the Gravenstein. I have never 

 beard before that the Porter was especially noted for 

 its early bearing. Perhaps it was because you got a 

 good tree and put it in a good place. 



Medina, O., Aug. 5. E. C. Green. 



But, friend G., the Gravenstein, Maiden's 

 Blush, and Queen Ann, are all considerably 

 later in our locality than the Porter. Our 

 Porter apples ripened right along with the 

 Early Harvest and Red Astrachan, almost a 

 month before Maiden's Blush ; and Graven- 

 stein, in our locality, is not nearly ripe yet. 

 I should put the Porter ahead of any of these, 

 besides being so much earlier. 



I have taken the liberty of extracting the 

 following fr. im a very kind letter : 



Two years after we were man ied my wife became 

 afflicted with a large ovarian tumor. The doctors fail- 

 ed to know what it was until she was very large: then 

 -we called in the elders to pray for her. and then she 

 wanted to visit her folks in Pennsylvania. She was 

 so bad and sore we had to carry her part of the way 

 from the railroad to her home. Then we went to see 

 a traveling specialist who claime 1 to remove tumors, 

 cancers, etc., without a knife: but I soon saw that he 

 was a tenibb quack, and did no' know as much about 

 tumors as I did, and was swiping the people terribly 

 (always beware of traveling sptcialists; a good spe- 

 cialist has more than he can do at home). Then we 

 went to Philadelphia, and seemed to be providentially 

 directed to the Jefferson Medical College Hospital, 

 where they removed the 50-lb. tumor with the knife 

 most successfully, and where she had the hest of care 

 and treatment and remained there only 32 days, and 

 it cost only $32 00, and now she is stout and well again, 

 and has two child- en. 



About using tobacco, you say it is on the increase in 

 some churches. Well. I am glad to say that, among 

 our people (the Mennonites), it is on the decrease. I 

 know quite a lew old men who have quit, and among 

 our ministers there is scarcelv one in a hundred who 

 uses it. In fact, among the 100 or 170 of them, whom I 

 am acquainted with, 1 don't know of one who makes 

 a practice of using tobacco. 



East Lynn, Mo. P. Hostetler. 



Several valuable points in the above should 

 be noted. First, the prayer was answered by 

 directing the friends to the medical hospital, 

 and I believe that is the true divine healing. 

 God guides and directs us so we can avail our- 

 selves intelligently of the best helps of modern 

 surgery. Second, the point made about trav- 

 eling specialists should have a still stronger 

 emphasis. A good physician always has all 

 he can do at home, without going about hunt- 

 ing up jobs. Third, there is one medical col- 

 lege, at least, that cures patients, and does not 

 charge any extravagant prices either. I should 

 say that $32.00 for 32 days' treatment is very 

 reasonable indeed. The fashion of charging 

 $400 or $500, especially where the sufferer and 

 his friends have but little means, is a shame 

 and a disgrace to the present age. Friend H., 

 I am exceedingly glad lO know that tobacco is 

 on the decrease in at least one of our Christian 

 denominations. 



PURE AIR, PURE WATER, ETC., INSTEAD OF DRUGS. 



Forty-eight years ago I became an euthusiastic ad- 

 vocate of the hydropathic system of treating disease, 

 which I consider specially valuable on account of its 

 warding off the popular reckless use of drugs, conse- 

 quently I read all you say on health in Gleanings, 

 and am in accord with most of it (I got one of the 

 sanitary stills lately). One year ago I got a copy cf 

 " The Home Handbook of Domestic Hygiene and 

 Rational Medicine," by J. H. Kellogg, of Battle Creek, 

 Mich. So complete, practical, and common sense is 

 it in all its departments, it is deservedly the most 

 popular treatise on the subject that I have ever seen, 

 to enable sickly people to avoid being robbed and 

 even killed in the strife to get money out of them. 

 This makes it a "family phvsician " right in the 

 family, to consult on all occasions. R. Wilkin. 



Famoso, Cal., July 18. 



MONEY LOST IN THE MAILS, ETC. 



Pretty much all the time we are having more 

 or less unpleasantness and hard feelings on ac- 

 count of lost money. Quite a number of the 

 friends do not seem to appreciate the very 

 thorough system and discipline that we keep 

 up to see that there is no chance for blame or 

 loss at our end of the route. When the sender 

 declares the money was s^nt us, and we de- 

 clare it never reached us, a good many times 

 he thinks we are just as likely to be mistaken 

 as he is. Perhaps I can make it clearer why 

 we are not likely to be at fault, by a little ex- 

 planation. We have had years of experience 

 in this matter. The lady who opens the let- 

 ters (Mrs. A. I. Root's sister) is not only an 

 experienced hand in the work, but she has 

 been blamed so many times she takes the ut- 

 most precaution. In the first place, the letters 

 are opened on a large table, where nothing can 

 be dropped. The letter and envelope are held 

 in her fingers until she reads far enough to 

 find out how much the writer says he incloses. 

 Then, without laying any thing down, or mix- 

 ing it up with any other business, she marks 

 on the letter just what the envelope contains. 

 If there is any disagreement, a shortage-card 

 is addressed to the writer, giving him further 

 facts in the case, while she holds every thing 

 in her fingers. Furthermore, if there is a loss 

 our postmaster is notified, and steps are taken 

 to trace up the missing money as far as possi- 

 ble. The two following letters show up two 



