1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



265 



me. I said, "Why, bless your little heart, is 

 the water really all gone ? When I brought 

 some more, even beiore he had taken a drink, 

 he uttered a queer little note of thanks and 

 contentment that was sweeter to me than 

 music. 



Dear reader, don't think I am making too 

 much ado about a common every-day chick- 

 en. What / heard was God's voice — the 

 "still small voice" of the great Father, the 

 Creator, speaking through one of the hum- 

 blest of his creations. Again I stand appall- 

 ed at the wondrous intelligence and match- 

 less energy stored away in that tiny creature 

 less than a week old. My chicks of 20 days 

 now sail over the workbench, and seem to 

 take delight in fluttering their new and 

 gauzy wings over my shoulders and in my 

 face. 



I have just received a lot of ' ' rooted cut- 

 tings" from florists in the North. As they 

 unfold their pretty leaves and take root in 

 their little pots, they too speak of the little 

 speck of the great Creator that is tied up in 

 their little buds, roots, and leaves. 



I reached Braidentown, Manatee Co., Fla., 

 after 10 p.m. Saturday night, Dec. 15, but 

 was awakened before daylight by the vocif- 

 erous crowing of the roosters. By the way, 

 it seems to me the feathered tribes crow, 

 cackle, and sing louder in Florida, or per- 

 haps this part of Florida, than anywhere 

 else. The hotels are two slow for me, es- 

 pecially Sunday morning, so I got breakfast 

 at a restaurant, and was out in the glorious 

 country before friend E. B. Rood's folks had 

 been to breakfast. As part of my errand there 

 was to get something to study the Sunday- 

 school lesson I was very soon happy with 

 the Sunday School Times. Friend R. has a 

 large, very bright, and intelligent Bible-class 

 in the Presbyterian church, and this was 

 turned over to me. Before closing, the su- 

 perintendent said there was a man with them 

 who always attended Sunday-school; and if 

 he ever brought up whei-e there were none, 

 a Sunday-school was started then and there. 

 Said he, "Just one year ago he did this at 

 Osprey (our county), and he gave it such a 

 good start that, when he went back north, it 

 kept on and is going yet. He will talk to us 

 briefly." After the school was over we lis- 

 tened to an excellent sermon. 



Dear friends, I am aware I have been crit- 

 icised for some things I do and say on the 

 Sibbath; but while I can feel that the Holy 

 Spirit is with me I do not believe I make 

 any very serious mistake. Jesus said, 



"Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the 

 sabbath day." Mr. Westwell, one of our 

 Medina employees, recently moved to Flori- 

 da on account of hemorrhage of the lungs. 

 He is located out in the country Ave miles 

 from Braidentown, and on the way to my 

 destination. When 1 told friend Rood I had 

 planned to walk out to his place Sunday 

 evening, in time for the evening meeting,* 

 he declared I should not go on foot, even if 

 it was true that his horses were never hitch- 

 ed up on Sunday for any other purpose than 

 going to meeting. I I'eached there a little 

 before meeting time. A revival had been 

 going on there, and I was pleasantly sur- 

 prised to see extra seats had been improvis- 

 ed in the little church by putting planks 

 across bee-hives. When the prayer-meeting 

 was about half over, the man who owned 

 the hives remarked that A. I. Root was 

 present, and the leader suggested that I be 

 requested to occupy the remaining time. 

 No doubt some of the good people feared 

 when I started out that I was foi'getting I 

 was in a Sunday-evening prayer-meeting. I 

 spoke something as follows: 



' ' Dear friends, it was something over forty 

 years ago that my attention was directed to 

 the honey-bees. For a year or more good 

 people thought it was a pity I should neglect 

 a good business to waste time and money in 

 studying bees. But after I had secured a 

 barrel q}' honey from one hive, in one season, 

 they began to think there was, after all, at 

 least .so?»e 'method in my madness.' I did 

 this by means of the honey extractor, and I 

 believe 1 made the first one of ' all metal ' 

 the world ever saw. Well, at that time there 

 were many patent bee-hives — expensive 

 structures with moth-traps, glass drawers, 

 etc. An 'individual right' was $5.00 or 

 $10.00, and the hive about as much more. I 

 soon declared no patent hive was wanted. 

 For the hive-body, all that was required was 

 a simple plain box, without top or bottom, so 

 the hives could be tiered up to accommo- 

 date the size of the colony or swarm, 

 or, in other words, to adapt it to the ability 

 of the queen. I named it the Simplicity bee- 

 hive. Such hives are now in use all over the 

 world. When I first got it out and declared 

 it was all the bee-keeping world needed, I 

 had visions and gi'eat anticipations. But, 

 dear friends, in all my visions and day-dreams 

 of its usefulness, I never thought, until to- 

 night, it might also be used to help spread 

 the gospel of Jesus Christ by making a con- 

 venient and secure support for the seats we 

 sit on. May God be praised that I have lived 

 to see my pet bee-hive consecrated to such a 

 pux'pose. May the good brother who was 

 willing to contribute even his hives to help 

 along a revival meeting have a rich reward; 

 and may God help us, each and all, to be 

 equally ready to respond with all that we have 

 and all that we are, for his honor and his 

 glory." 



These Simplicity hives were probably of 



* When I decide circumstances justify me for Sun- 

 day, I p/r/s/- to jjo on foot because this requires no 

 Sunday labor for any man or beast. 



