1900 



GIvEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



663 



persistent; but in just one short week I re- 

 gained a degree of health that I hardly ever 

 felt before. My digestion became almost per- 

 fect ; every ache and pain was gone ; catarrh, 

 neuralgia, rheumatism, susceptibility to draft, 

 faintness before mealtime, lassitude, and a 

 tired feeling, had all vanished, and I was a 

 boy again, with boyish appetites, boyish exu- 

 berance of spirits, and strength. Now, I do 

 not know just what brought it about ; but I 

 will try to describe it for the benefit of oth- 

 ers. 



In the first place, I was entirely outdoors. 

 For a whole week I did not go inside of any 

 building. When I was tired I lay down in 

 my blanket on the groand, with my face to- 

 ward the breeze as it came off across the wa- 

 ters, and slept all I wanted to. For a diet we 

 "had fish, potatoes roasted in the coals, and 

 "berries picked in the swamps and on the hills. 

 I have told you how I learned to paddle an 

 Indian canoe ; and I was rejoiced to find that 

 I could reach a " second wind " in paddling a 

 boat just as well as in riding a bicycle. The 

 paddling of the boat gave me exercise through 

 my arms and across my chest that I did not 

 get on the wheel ; and all day long I had plen- 

 ty of time to remember the repeated injunc- 

 tion to fill the lungs clear full of air. I did 

 this again and again, and enjoyed it. Water 

 "was so handy that the most of us took a bath 

 «very day, and sometimes twice a day. As 

 we were away out in the wilderness we wore 

 "but very little clothing, went bareheaded, if 

 we felt inclined to, let the sun strike not only 

 our arms and chests, but we prolonged the 

 bathing time so as to let the sun strike the 

 whole body. Of course, we got tanned and 

 sunburnt ; but what was the odds if we got 

 health ? 



When my comrades were cooking such 

 quantities of oatmeal porridge and other 

 things, I remonstrated because I thought it 

 would spoil before we could all consume it ; 

 but they laughingly informed me that things 

 did not " spoil" when out camping. At first 

 I wondered that anybody could eat so much 

 and not be made sick ; but after about three 

 days I ate almost as much as any of them, 

 and was not sick either. Again, they made 

 coffee enough for a dozen the way people or- 

 dinarily drink coffee. Of course, the coffee 

 was weak ; and when I saw my companions 

 drink cupful after cupful, I spoke about so 

 much liquid hindering digestion ; but they 

 laughed at me, and pretty soon I too could 

 drink cupful after cupful. In fact, with the 

 amount of food that we ate it seemed as if 

 Nature called for great lots of drink. To my 

 surprise I did not have a headache, nor any 

 indigestion, nor any thing disagreeable. I 

 just felt strong and well, and I certainly hsive 

 never relished any food in my life as I did in 

 those days. I should certainly have pronounc- 

 ed the potatoes we had in that bag the finest 

 variety for table use I have ever found in the 

 world. Not even the Freemans could com- 

 pare with them. The boys said they got them 

 at a grocery, and their impression was they 

 were the Early Rose. They were not only 

 dry and mealy, but the flavor was like that of 



a roasted chestnut ; in fact, it was exquisite. 

 By the way, I am going to get a few of those 

 same potatoes, if I can, and see if I can grow 

 some that will taste like those we had in camp. 

 We boiled them with the skins on, then pour- 

 ed the water off, and shook them, holding the 

 pail they were boiled in over the fire mean- 

 while. Like every thing else the bread was 

 certainly the nicest in the world, especially 

 after I had tramped through the bushes, over 

 rocks and hills, about two miles, to find a 

 place where I could buy a loaf of bread. The 

 good woman felt much troubled because the 

 only loaf she had to spare was scorched in 

 baking. She was going to cut off the burnt 

 part, but I begged her not to, telling her that 

 I especially liked bread baked brown or black; 

 then when the boys felt bad because they had 

 overcooked some of the food, I told them I 

 always liked things overdone. In cooking 

 some beans, Mr. G. felt bad because he got in 

 so much water that it was bean porridge ; 

 but I told him that was all right— that I liked 

 bean porridge with lots of water in it ; and I 

 told the truth too. The dinner, made of some 

 of that bean soup, bread and butter, the po- 

 tatoes I have been telling you about, and fried 

 black bass, made the finest dinner I ever ate. 

 Why, it seemed as if I could eat all the after- 

 noon without being satisfied, and I thanked 

 God for such an appetite too, at every mouth- 

 ful. 



Some of you may suggest that I am advising 

 people to make gluttons of themselves. There 

 is another expression referring to swine, but if 

 you will excuse me I will not use it here ; but 

 I wish to assure you we were doing nothing of 

 the kind. We came out into the wilderness 

 to get health. We had been having brisk ex- 

 ercise, rowing boats, chopping wood, building 

 fireplaces, rigging up a sail for our boat, and 

 all these things, and were downright hungry. 

 After our big repast we took a nap if we felt 

 inclined, then took exercise of some sort. We 

 had pure air ; and, by the way, the air in those 

 regions is more or less scented from the pines 

 and other resinous trees that cover the rocky 

 hills and rocky islands. This resinous air, it 

 is said, has a beneficial effect on the health. 

 If you but think of it you will recognize that 

 we were but getting back to the days of our 

 forefathers. We were out in the wilderness 

 under the shade of the trees. We were Na- 

 ture's children ; and I am firmly persuaded 

 the answer to my prayer came through this 

 experience that I have been giving you. It is 

 not more druggists we need, and it is not 

 more doctors we need, unless it be the kind of 

 doctors that tell their patients to go away 

 from civilization, and live in the open air. 



Am I alone in this discovery of mine ? Why, 

 bless your heart, no. Monday afternoon, Aug. 

 6, by the advice of my two friends I took the 

 steamer trip from Gravenhurst up through 

 Lake Muskoka, Lake Joseph, and Lake Rous- 

 seau. The steamer makes its trips daily, stop- 

 ping at innumerable islands, or wherever a 

 flag is run up announcing that there are pas- 

 sengers waiting. Well, these islands at this 

 season of the year are pretty well peopled with 

 visitors from all over the United States and 



