664 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15. 



Canada, who go there to seek health. The 

 buildings are all summer houses, with great 

 numbers of porches, and hammocks strung 

 out under the trees. People who can afford 

 it, own these cottages and spend the summer 

 months there. They wear the lightest kind of 

 summer clothing, paddle about in boats, play 

 in the water, catch fish, and get rest and rec- 

 reation. I am just now reminded to say that, 

 during my week in the wilderness, I did not 

 see a daily paper. In fact, I did not get a pa- 

 per of any kind. When I began to get a little 

 lost for something to read, Mr. G. gave me a 

 large book describing and picturing the wild 

 flowers of Ontario. This book made my ram- 

 bles over the hills and through the swamps 

 doubly interesting, for I found almost all the 

 greenhouse plants here in their wild state. 

 "When it comes to berries, we find June-berries, 

 huckleberries (different varieties), red and 

 black raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, 

 and even currants, growing wild in the woods. 

 "Well, these islands, scattered all through these 

 beautiful soft-water lakes, are covered with 

 evergreens, pines, hemlocks, spruces, and even 

 balsams. Thousands upon thousands of the 

 residents of cities have been making just such 

 a discover)' as I have made. They throw off 

 business cares, stop using their brains, culti- 

 vate their muscles, and "turn Injun." The 

 native Indians developed muscle and nothing 

 else. The modern American is getting a good 

 way toward developing brain, and forgetting 

 the body. 



Now, I am not going so far as some of our 

 modern doctors who say it does not make any 

 difference what ails you, "just come to me 

 and take my medicine, and you will be all 

 right;" but I can truthfully say this: No 

 matter what ails you, you will certainly get 

 great benefit by living outdoors as much as 

 possible. If you can get near a body of water, 

 where you can get the cooling breezes from it, 

 and bathe daily, or twice a day, in pure soft 

 water in unlimited quantities, all the better. 

 Confine yourself for a few days to the work of 

 eating and drinking and sleeping — let every 

 thing else go. Of course, you want some 

 occupation. 



Just a word in regard to diet. It does seem 

 a cruel thing to torture the worms and poor 

 fish; and I could make an eloquent appeal for 

 a vegetarian diet. But many people can not 

 stand such a diet. I do not believe we can 

 learn to stand it, safely. Just now I would 

 place fresh fish at the head of the meat diets. 

 Our Savior, on at least three occasions, pro- 

 vided fish for the hungry people, and, strange- 

 ly enough, one of the last things recorded of 

 him was that he ate a piece of broiled fish and 

 some honey; and I can not believe that he 

 made a mistake or that he would be better 

 pleased to have us vegetarians. By the way, 

 I learned to eat honey, with the rest of the 

 boys, with my fish and bread, and that, too, 

 without disturbance to my digestion. 



Monday night we arrived at the great hotel 

 at Port Colburn. While it has rooms for over 

 a hundred guests, at the time we were there 

 every room was taken, and they were obliged 

 to put up with cots. I would have gladly 



taken my blanket, and slept out on the 

 ground, but there were so many stylish people 

 all around I feared it might not be just ac- 

 cording to etiquette. 



The water in all these lakes is almost as 

 soft as rain water. It is clear and pure ; but 

 the number of floating logs, in consequence 

 of the great lumber trade, has given it a rather 

 dark color. It has been suggested that pine 

 roots from the islands may have given it a 

 little color, and, perhaps, in some localities, 

 taste. 



The question will be asked, " Are not other 

 pure-water lakts as good as Muskoka, Geor- 

 gian Ba5% Lake Superior, and other northern 

 regions? " No doubt any large body of water 

 tends to cool the air and make it wholesome ; 

 btit I think the northern regions are greatly 

 preferable because they are cooler. The water 

 never smells bad, and leaves but little or no 

 sediment on the stones. At first I thought I 

 could not stand it to bathe in water so cold ; 

 but I was agreeabl}' surprised to find in a little 

 time my body became so accustomed to the 

 cool water that I could bear it all over about 

 as well as we can bear cold water on the hands 

 and face. The invigorating atmospheie cer- 

 tainly must have much to do with it. 



I am not through with my explorations in 

 this direction in search of health ; and I shall, 

 therefore, have more to tell you about it. 



In regard to expense, the railroad companies 

 and boat lines have made exceedingly low 

 rates of travel to favor excursions of this kind. 

 When it comes to daily food, you can buy 

 every thing in Canada as cheaply as anywhere 

 else — oftentimes cheaper. We got big loaves 

 of beautiful bread for a dime. Garden stuff 

 of all sorts is very cheap. If you will get up 

 and dust, your meat food need not cost you 

 any thing, because there are fish wherever 

 there is water. We got all the bass we needed 

 for every meal, and toward dusk we got im- 

 mense catfish that we threw back into the 

 water, as we had no use for them. When it 

 comes to lodging, if } ou can scrape up some 

 kind of tent to shelter you when it rains, and 

 a thick woollen blanket to keep you warm, 

 the lodging need not cost ^-ou any thing. We 

 met two students from Buffalo, who said they 

 lived cheaper up there in the islands than they 

 could anywhere else. That was one reason 

 for taking a long vacation. Of course, one 

 can not earn any thing unless he goes as guide, 

 or paddles a canoe, or something of that sort. 



Now, I am sure, dear friends, that most of 

 5^ou can profit more or less from these sug- 

 gestions I have given you ; and it will be 

 cheaper in many ways than to take stuff that 

 you get at the drugstores, and far cheaper than 

 to employ expensive doctors. Go back to 

 Nature, and let her be your physician. 



MAYWOOD, VUX, , NOT AN INTEMPERATE TOWN. 



Mr. A. I. Root: — Will you please refer to page 686, 

 Gleanings for July 15? As a resident of May wood I 

 wish, in a friendly way, to take exceptions to the 

 remarks you make in that article about our village. I 

 have lived in May wood for the past twelve years, and 

 for all that time we have maintained a strict prohibi- 

 tion district. There is not now, and never has been, 

 a saloon within the corporate limits of Maywood. 



