096 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Wairon Co., 111. She was confined to her 

 bed with but little hope of ever being able 

 to get up. She could just lie on her back 

 and write a little with a pencil. Well, she 

 got the bee-fever, and finally teased so hard 

 for a colony of bees to be placed just a little 

 outside the window-sill that her friends pro- 

 (Mired one, and fixed lier up Avith cushions so 

 she could lie on her side and see the bees go 

 out and bring in pollen and honey. The 

 new interest and enthusiasm gave her an 

 ap]ietite, and she was soon placed in an 

 easy-chair beside the Avindow. She soon 

 became so curious in regard to the inner 

 workings of the hive that they made ar- 

 rangements so she could open it, get out the 

 combs, find the queen, etc. You may, per- 

 haps, guess the result. A little later she was 

 outside in her easy-ehair, and, later still, 

 upon her feet. To be brief, she eventually 

 walked from one hive to another, handled 

 the bees successfully, took off the honey, 

 forgot her infirmity and feeble health, and 

 soon did the Avork of a strong man. Mrs. 

 Axtell had been for years an earnest Chris- 

 tian. She had prayed for an opportunity 

 to spread the gospel, and continued to pray 

 as she made progress in bee culture. She 

 promised the Lord if he would give her 

 success she Avould use the proceeds for mis- 

 sionary work and for spreading the gospel; 

 and finally, Avith the aid of her husband, 

 Avho entered into the Avork also with his 

 Avhole soul, she produced a crop of honey 

 then unheard of, amounting to .39,000 lbs. 

 Out of the proceeds about $4000 Avas given 

 to the support of missionaries in foreign 

 lands, and a little tract Avas published at 

 that time entitled "What the Honeybees 

 have Done for Mission Work," or something 

 like that. Mi's. Axtell recovered her health 

 St) as to attend a beekeepers' convention, 

 telling how the Lord had rescued her and 

 given her success with bees. She is still 

 living, and only a few months ago gave me 

 an account of what she is doing noAv, Avhen 

 she is getting old, not only Avith the bees but 

 Avith small fruits and other of God's gifts. 

 Shortly after the episode I have men- 

 tioned in regard to that microscopic photo I 

 announced that Gleanings Avould be sent to 

 missionaries in any part of the Avorld, free 

 of charge, so long as they cared to read it. 

 T said if any of the readers of Gleanings 

 had friends in foreign mission fields and 

 would send me their names they could have 

 it free of charge as long as they would read 

 it. NoAv, to illustrate hoAv poorly T Avas 

 informed at that time in regard to mission 

 AVork T sup])()sed there avct'c only about a 

 dozen or tAvo missionaries in all the Avoiid. 

 After that announcement had gone out, one 



of the clerks Avho opened the letters said, 

 " Mr. Root, I am afraid you have been a 

 little reckless. We have an aAvful lot of 

 letters asking us to send Gleanings to mis- 

 sionaries; and that is not all — you have to 

 pay the postage, 24 cents a year, on most 

 of them, and a few are 48 cents a year. Can 

 you stand all this?" 



1 reflected a minute. To tell the truth, I 

 . Avas often hard up at that early day. Again 

 and again I had hard Avork to scrape up 

 money enough to i^ay all my help Saturday 

 night. But my little prayer, " Lord, help," 

 that became at that time not only a daily 

 petition, but almost hourly, rarely failed. 

 When 1 Avas getting the boys out of jail and 

 setting them at work, financial help came 

 from unexpected sources. I finally looked 

 at the clerk smilingly and said, " Don't you 

 Avorry, my good friend. The great Father 

 above will furnish the postage-stamps." 



Dear friends, I want to tell you my faith 

 Avas not misplaced. Noav listen to another 

 thing. It is the honest truth that, Avhen I 

 agreed to send Gleanings, I had not a 

 thought of the advertising it Avould bring 

 me. I had become enthusiastic on spread- 

 ing the gospel; and Avith the hope that my 

 little journal might help the missionaries I 

 made the decision ; and I was more aston- 

 ished than anybody else on receiving letters 

 from missionaries (Avhich letters were pub- 

 lished in our journal) telling me inciden- 

 tally about bee culture in foreign parts of 

 the earth. From that time forAvard, orders 

 have been coming, not only from every land 

 Avhere our language is spoken, but orders 

 are still coming from people Avho do not 

 speak our language; and w^ not only have 

 an interpreter here in our office, but we have 

 one in New York who can translate our own 

 letters into any of the principal languages 

 of the earth. 



In a little time after Gleanings was 

 started I decided there must be an instruc- 

 tion-book on bees; and knowing that it 

 Avould have to be revised almost constantly, 

 T purchased type enough to set up the en- 

 tire Avork. It Avas called the " A B C of Bee 

 Culture." It was at first only a little 25-cent 

 book; then 50 cents, then 7-5, and so on. The 

 pages being kept all in standing type, it 

 enabled us to make corrections and add to 

 or take out matter as necessary for neAV 

 editions. This kept us constantly in the 

 forefront of bee-books. 



To illustrate Avith Avhat care and pains I 

 took to have every thing authentic, let me 

 tell you that Avhen T started ray chapter on 

 bee-iumting 1 recognized that I Avas not 

 competent to do it justice. In our neigh- 

 borhood there Avas a charactei; Avhom Ave 



