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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



August, 1921 



man. His duties were such that he could 

 not get around home to meet his charming 

 young wife oftener than once in two or 

 three weeks. In the course of time this 

 railroader's wife had to call a physician. 

 When she was convalescent, in order to give 

 her "fresh air," etc., the doctor took Iter 

 out in his buggy. People began to talk. The 

 railroad man came home, and he and the 

 doctor accidentally met each other on the 

 street; and finally the neighbors, when they 

 saw the two had become excited, saw also 

 two revolvers produced; and had it not been 

 for their interference a tragedy would prob- 

 ably have ensued. Two divorces followed, 

 and once more the doctor had a new occu- 

 pant in his home. There was such talk, 

 however, about it, that the doctor evidently 

 considered it best to mend his ways. I do 

 not know whether he became a follower of 

 the Lord Jesus Christ, or not, before he 

 died. 



Just one more incident: 



In a certain town in Ohio there was a 

 wealthy manufacturer, but he openly pro- 

 fessed skepticism and infidelity, both in 

 public and in print. He would stop his 

 business at almost any time to criticise 

 God 's holy word. During one of tlie church 

 revivals his case was mentioned, and a com- 

 mittee was appointed, not only to pray for 

 him but to labor with him in regard to the 

 harm he was doing the community by his 

 example. Among the committee was a 

 Christian woman who seemed to have re- 

 markable skill in winning souls to Christ. 

 She was appointed to go and call on this 

 skeptic and see if she could not do him some 

 good. Now, as soon as I knew of it I said 

 the church was very unwise. This skeptic 

 was well read. In many respects he was a 

 man of great ability. Instead of this good 

 woman winning him over to her religion he 

 won her over to Ms hopeless infidelity and 

 unbelief. Altho he was an elderly man with 

 a good-sized family of eminently respect- 

 able men and women, two divorces fol- 

 lowed and the two were married. 



Years ago I protested about having a 

 business man and his stenographer shut up 

 together in a little room by themselves; and 

 you have only to go over the daily papers to 

 see how many divorces come about now, be- 

 cause of somebody's "stenographer." A 

 certain banker was doing quite a business. 

 He became so much infatuated with his ste- 

 nographer that there was talk that it threat- 

 ened to break up his home. A minister was 

 called in, and / was consulted in regard to 

 the matter. When I declared that the ste- 

 nographer should leave in an instant, even 

 if the banker 's wife was unreasonable, the 

 minister replied something like this: 



' ' Mr. Boot, that stenographer is the life 

 of the bank. She has had more to do in 

 building it up and enlarging the business 

 than the banker himself. It might be the 

 ruin of the institution if she were sent 

 awav. ' ' 



What do you think I said? Something like 

 this: 



' ' Then let the institution go to ruin. In 

 a case like this, dollars and cents should not 

 count. If this woman 's presence in the 

 bank was of more consequence than the 

 happiness of the wife and mother, let the 

 banker go somewhere else or do something 

 else, no matter what happens to finances. ' ' 



My advice was not taken, and pretty soon 

 there was a divorce, and the banker married 

 the stenographer, and I think the banking 

 business went "down and out," shortly 

 after. ' ' What God hath joined together, let 

 not man put asunder, ' ' says the Savior. 



I wish to call attention to the girl preach- 

 er 's statement, * ' There will also come a 

 time when you will want to tell your lover 

 everything." And I might go on and quote 

 from the whole sermon in the same way. 

 May God bless that bright message; and 

 may it be read again and again and consid- 

 ered, by both, ' ' the married man and you. ' ' 



Please do not think from what I have 

 said or from what the girl preacher has 

 said about the "married man and you" 

 that a married man or a girl should not be 

 pleasant, courteous, and sociable; but both 

 should be careful, and avoid the temptation 

 to discriminate. The married man should 

 treat all girls alike so far as circumstances 

 will jiermit. There should be no special 

 favorites. In the same way the young 

 woman should be pleasant and agreeable to 

 all married men alike. Let each keep con- 

 stantly in mind that beautiful text written 

 by one who fell so suddenly (and disas- 

 trously) by departing from the right road 

 in regard to the things I have pointed out 

 — David. 



Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, 

 and know my thoughts; and see if there be any 

 wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever- 

 histing. — P.s.'VLM 139:23, 24. 



"The dearest idol I have known, 



Whate'er that idol be, 

 Help me to tear it from its throne, 



And worship only thee." 



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Blueberries and Huckleberries Under 

 Cultivation. 

 I have always, since early childhood, 

 been interested in huckleberries — both the 

 kind that grows in the swamps and the 

 other sort that grows on high ground. I 

 believe the latter used to be called "blue- 

 berries. ' ' At various times during the past 

 50 years I have heard of attempts to grow 

 one or both in the garden under cultivation, 

 but I believe they .have always been fail- 

 ures. Some years ago the Rural New-Yorker 

 announced that a lady in New Jersey had 

 discovered the reason of failure, which was 

 that both huckleberries and blueberries 

 must have an acid soil. They can not stand 

 stable manure nor any soil containing lime. 

 The paper stated further that she was 

 achieving great success in a soil made up 

 of rotten leaves and sand. The decaying 

 leaves produce the sourness; and in order 



