1900 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



587 



ed because they were not." Oh the young children 

 that we see dying every day ! Here they are, mothers 

 and fathers around us the whole of the day, nothing 

 but skin and bone, pleading piteously for food. Only 

 when we lay our heads on our pillows at night are we 

 free from these heartrending sights, and sometimes 

 not even then, for the sights and sounds of the day 

 often appear again in our dreams. I do not write of 

 those people found in the bazaar every day, but of 

 bona-fide villagers. I have already seen several human 

 beings being eaten up by dogs and birds ; in fact, this 

 sight is of almost daily occurrence ; and finding dead 

 bodies lying by the wayside is quite common. These 

 poor creatures .sit down by the wayside to rest ; but, 

 being too weak to raise themselves, 'this is their end. 

 We have a burning pile kept going day and night. 

 Usually six bodies are burned together ; and as days 

 go by it will get worse. One of the most conspicuous 

 places in each village is the spot allotted for the burn- 

 ing pile. 



We are at present giving relief in the following 

 ways : 



Selling maize at a very cheap rate, 5 pounds for .3 

 annas, or one pound forl^ cents We are selling dai- 

 ly from 200 to 820 lbs. Some of the people are coming 

 a distance of 20 miles to buy ; and, so far as I can 

 judge, this is one of the best forms of famine relief. 



In mj' visits to the villages I take a small quantity of 

 rice with me on the camel or in the cart ; visit from 

 hou'C to house, find out the sick and very needy ones, 

 give them a ticket and enough rice to feed them until 

 the next day, when they come into Sanand and pre- 

 sent their ticket to Mrs. King, who gives them a sup- 

 ply for two or three days, according to the di.stance of 

 the village. This is entered in a record-book, and at 

 the end of the second or third day thej' get another 

 suppl}', just enough to keep life in them. Widows and 

 fatherless children are treated in this way. 



I,et me describe to you some of the sights found in 

 these visits. I usually go to the chief man of the vil- 

 lage, who is responsible to the government for the 

 peace of the village, but who is himself, for his greed 

 of filthy lucre, the greatest peace-breaker. Having 

 asked him how things are in his village the answer 

 generally is, " As the year is, so the people are," which 

 is perfectly true ; for a year of famine means a fam- 

 ished people. My notice is drawn to a family of the 

 potter caste, who had, a day or two before, given up all 

 hopes of pulling through. I found them, five in num- 

 ber, all shut up in their house. Only one was able to 

 stand. Food was at once given to them. A day or 

 two after, the father died ; the mother will go, for the 

 poor creature has been without food too long for one 

 to do much for her; two of the children are doing fair- 

 ly well. 



Visit No. 2 found the father lying on a cot, burning 

 with fever, with three little motherless children sit- 

 ting by the side of it. This man was the owner of 40 

 head of cattle. Every one has died of starvation. 

 The poor mother al.so went the same way about six 

 weeks ago. There sat the three poor little bony crea- 

 tures slowly but surely going the way of their mother 

 — no food. 



Visit No. 8 finds a widow with five children. It is 

 impossible f.or three of the five to live. A girl of 14 

 put her hands together and looked up piteously into 

 my face as I bent over her cot, and pleaded for food, 

 which was quickly given. 



Visit No. 4 found a widow and her two children sick 

 with fever — had had no food for two days. 



Visit No. 5, again a poor widow with two sons. The 

 sight of the poor creature turns one faint. She had 

 gathered and sold wood to support her children. Her 

 strength has run out, and here she lies, I fear, never 

 to rise again. 



The above is only an outline of thousands of cases 

 in the surrounding villages. 



If you feel led to publish this letter you may do so. 

 I leave it with you ; but maj' God never allow me to 

 see another famine. Here we have to live and have 

 our being in the mid.st of it, so we know the awfuluess 

 of it. Mr. Root, it is impossible to draw a picture too 

 dark. I shall send you a few photos as soon as I can 

 get them. 1; T. F. Kino. 



Sanand, Gujarat, India. 



On receipt of the above letter I decided at 

 once to send a check for $100, and Ernest for 

 $25. This $125 was sent directly to Rev. T. 

 F. King ; the remainder, $8 00, was sent to 

 Frank H. Wiggin, as heretofore. Lest some 

 of the friends be discouraged, and conclude 



there is no help for the things described, per- 

 mit me to add that we have good authority for 

 stating there is no more fertile soil in the 

 world than that of India. In other words, an 

 acre of ground there, with proper facilities 

 for irrigation, will keep as many people from 

 starving as an acre almost anywhere else in 

 the world. All that is needed is to construct 

 reservoirs, and go to work exactly as we are 

 now managing the Great American Desert ; 

 and work of this kind is already in progress 

 on a large scale, the people being paid suffi- 

 cient wages to keep them alive while the res- 

 ervoirs and irrigating canals are in process of 

 construction. The responsibility of putting 

 an end to such suffering rests directly on the 

 shoulders of each one of us. Dear brother or 

 sister, whenever you waste a particle of food, 

 or pay out money for things you can well get 

 along without, for God's sake remember the 

 starving brothers and sisters in India, as de- 

 scribed above, and lend a helping hand with 

 whatever amount you can spare. 



INDIA RELIEF FUND. 



A. I. Root, Medina, Ohio $100 00 



E. R. Root, '• " 3.5 00 



Mrs. Warner, " " 1 OO 



Henry Zeiner, Bertig, Ark 1 00 



Harriett Herr, Williamsville, N. Y 4 00 



Esther Herr, " " 1 00 



John S. Snearly, " " 1 00 



8133 00 



SEASONABLE OFFERINGS. 



GOLDEN YELLOW ITALIAN QUEENS. 



Now is the time to improve your strain of bees. The 

 queens I offer are the finest in the land. I sold quite 

 a number this season, and all are delighted with the 

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60-lb. Cans. Two in a Crate. 



I have 400 crates of 2 (iOlb. cans each that were used 

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 New crates if 2 60-lb. cans each, cost 8oc. Speak quick. 

 Root's goods at Root's prices: also Muth jars. Send 

 for catalog. HONEY AND BEESWAX WANTED. 



C. H. W. Weber, 2i4ti Central Ave., Cincinnati. Ohio. 



DON'T DIG Potatoes by Hand. 



It is a slow and expensive way. The cheapest, quick- 

 est, and easiest wayis to USE THE IIVlPROVED 



Dowden Potato-digger. 



It gets them all, no matter how deep or shallow. Our 

 book explains how. The hook is free. W' ite for it now. 

 DOWDEN MFO. CO., Box 23, Prairie City, Iowa. 



/AIUIIIU V^UCClia. prolific queens; if you 

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 J. D. GIVENS, Lisbon, Texas. 



