664 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 1 



OUR 



HOK/IES, 



BY A. I. R OOT. 



"I am come that they might have life, and that they 

 might have it more abundantly. — John 10:10. 



Not only is our text a beautiful thought, 

 but it is most beautifully expressed. Jesus 

 is contrasting' his life and his mission here 

 on earth with the lives of thieves and rob- 

 bers, who live only to trouble and distress 

 the honest hard-working people. His life 

 and his mission were to give humanity 

 "life" in the truest sense of the word; and 

 not only that, but to give it more abundant- 

 ly to those who have already a fair amount 

 of health and happiness. It is as true to- 

 day as it was then that all real life and 

 happiness come through showing forth to 

 the world the spirit of Christ Jesus. Chris- 

 tian nations are always in advance in be- 

 stowing health, happiness, and peace on 

 their people. 



Mrs. Root and I have been having a very 

 happy time for the past two weeks here at 

 the " cabin in the woods. " In writing 

 home to the children a few days ago she 

 said something like this: "Father is enjoying 

 himself intensely; in fact, if he gets much 

 happier I hardly see how he will live." 



Dear friends, I have been and am exceed- 

 ingly happy; and this Home paper is to tell 

 how you may, at least to some extent, share 

 this same happiness. I rejoice the more in 

 it because we have no high-priced surround- 

 ings. Ours is an exceedingly humble 

 home. We have no expensive clothing, and 

 our daily food is hardly up to the average 

 farmer's table.* We have, however, an 

 abundance of beautiful pure air — I call it 

 the finest in the world, that is, so far as I 

 have "sampled" the world. To get the 

 full benefit of it we still live in the original 

 "cabin" that is so well ventilated it is al- 

 most like living out of doors. Our good 

 friend Terry is still hammering away in 

 the Philadelphia Practical Farmer in re- 

 gard to the importance of a great lot of out- 

 door air. Why, he is almost thundering it 

 in people's ears that they are sick and ail- 

 ing because they sleep in rooms with the 

 doors and windows shut, and that they 

 would most of them get well if they would 

 let drugs alone and just live and sleep out- 

 doors. 



When in Medina I take my after-dinner 

 nap in a large airy basement. I noticed 

 long ago I always got up with a bad taste 

 in my mouth unless the windows were open 

 on both sides of the room, and even then 

 there is apt to be a little of this and other 

 symptoms of indigestion unless there is a 

 good strong breeze through the apartment. 

 Terry says, and I think he is right, that 

 all the talk and notions about "sleeping in 

 a draft of air" are pure nonsense, or would 



* For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance 

 of the things he possesseth. — I,tjke 12:15. 



be if folks were only accustomed to a breeze 

 day and night. 



Well, as it has been rather cool here I 

 have been taking my naps in the cabin 

 with the doors and windows open; but Mrs. 

 Root insisted that the hammock in a group 

 of maples just above the cabin, on a hill 

 overlooking the bay, was a much better 

 place, and asked me to experiment careful- 

 ly and note the difference. I did so. Sleep- 

 ing in this cool breeze from off the great 

 Northern Lakes is really a wonderful in- 

 vigorator and appetizer. That last word is 

 important. I now eat fruit, vegetables, 

 and any thing that comes handy, like all 

 the rest of the world. Of course, I work 

 every day and do some pretty hard work. 

 One reason why I am happy is that my 

 strength holds out, almost from daylight 

 until dark. We not only have this great 

 abundance of pure air, but we have a run- 

 ning stream of pure spring water right at 

 our dcor. Hot water just now is a " back 

 number, "but I drink great quantities of cold 

 water — perhaps more than I ever drank 

 before — that is, while I am hard at work 

 out of doors. 



Now, this isn't all. Pure water and pure 

 air in great plenty are grand; but /think 

 we want lots of sunshine also. My clothing 

 up here in the woods is of the lightest de- 

 scription, so I get the sun pretty well almost 

 all over my body all the time; but I am go- 

 ing further. When I get warm and sweaty 

 I make a little inclosure of empty potato- 

 boxes and a strip of canvas so I can sit 

 right in the sun, say at 2 o'clock, entirely 

 divested of every thing. "Get sunburned ?' ' 

 Oh, no! for a light hose, carrying this same 

 spring water, gives me a most refreshing 

 shower bath. After you get a little used 

 to it, water at from 70 to 75*^ is very much 

 more refreshing than any thing warmer. 

 Our spring water ccmes through iron pipes 

 mostly on top of the ground, and the sun 

 on these pipes warms it up just right for a 

 bath in the middle of a sunny day. It is 

 nice for drinking, nights and mornings, so 

 we keep a pail of it on the north side of the 

 cabin for the middle of the day. 



Now, physical health and strength, while 

 they should fill our hearts with thankful- 

 ness, are not sufficient to give us happiness 

 or the "life" mentioned in our text. The 

 thieves and outlaws may have good health; 

 but have they the life the Savior mentions ? 

 Do they enjoy life in any such way as the 

 honest man who works hard for the benefit 

 of his fellows? Surely not. I have been 

 very happy in making a flower-bed in front 

 of the little church (see p. 557 last issue), 

 and I have been happy in working for 

 others (instead of self) in many ways. I 

 have also been happy in looking after my 

 plants and trees that I had not seen for 

 about two months. I am testing different 

 things on these sandy hills. We have 

 eight varieties of currants, six of gooseber- 

 ries, about as many blackberries, some 

 English filberts, the improved large chest- 

 nuts, besides peaches, plums, etc. Some 



