A SUMMER SERMON
Discourse Full of the Breath of
Hills and Fields.
0r. Talmage Applies His Text to the
World in Which We Live—The
Need of Olive Branches In
Every Day Life.
(Copyright, 1901, by Louis Klopsch, N. Y.}
Washington, Sept. 1.
This discourse of Dr. Talmage is
full of the breath of the hills and
fields and is a summer sermon: text,
Nehemiah viii, 15, “Go forth unto the
mount and fetch olive branches and
pine branches and myrtle branches
and palm branches and branches of
thick trees to make booths.”
It seems as if Mount Olivet were
unmoored. The people have gone in
to the mountain and have cut off
tree branches and put them on their
shoulders, and they come forth now
into the streets of Jerusalem and on
the house tops, and they twist these
tree branches into arbors or booths.
Then the people come forth from
their comfortable homes and dvfell
for seven days in these booths or
arbors. Why do they do that? Well,
it is a great festal time. It is the
feast of tabernacles, and these peo
ple are going to celebrate the desert
travel of their fathers and their de
liverance from tlieir troubles, the ex
perience of their fathers when, travel
ing in the desert, they lived in booths
on their way to the land of Canaan.
And so these booths also became high
ly suggestive—I will not say they are
necessarily typical, but highly sug
gestive—of our march toward Heaven
and of the fact that we are only liv
ing temporarily here, as it were, in
booths or arbors, on our way to the
Canaan of eternal rest. And what
was said to the .Jews literally may
be said figuratively to all this au
dience. Go forth unto the mountain
and fetch olive branches and pine
branches and myrtle branches and
palm branches anil branches of thick
trees to make booths.
Yes, we are only here in a tem
porary residence. We are marching
on. The merchant princes who used
to live in Bowling Green, New York,
have passed away, and their resi
dences are now the fields of cheap
merchants, it here are the men who
60 years ago owned Washington and
New York? Passed on. There is no
use in our driving our stakes too
deep into the earth; we are on the
inarch. The generations that have
preceded us have gone so far on that
we cannot even hear the sound of
their footsteps. They have gone
over the hill, and we are to follow
them. But, blessed be God, we are
not in this world left out of doors
and unsheltered. there are Gospel
booths or Gospel arbors in which our
6ouls are to be comforted. Go forth
unto the mountain and fetch olive
branches and pine branches and
myrtle branches and palm branches
and branches of thick trees and build
booths.
Well, now we arercady to construct
a Gospel arbor or Gospel booth, and
how shall we construct it? Well, we
must get all the tree branches and
build. According to my text, we
must go up into the mount and
bring olive branches. What does
that mean? The olive tree grows
in warm climates, and it reaches the
height of 20 or 22 feet, a straight
Etem and then an offshoot from that
Etem. And then people come, and
they strip off these branches some
times, and when in time of war the
general of one army takes one of
these olive branches and goes out to
cxic gcntriui ui uiiuintri- cixiiiy, wnat
does that mean? Why, it means un
saddle the war chargers. It means
hang up the war knapsacks. It is but
a beautiful way of saying, Peace!
Now, if we are to-day going to
succeed in building thi^ Gosp 1 arbor
we must go into the mount of God’s
blessing and fetch the olive branches,
end whatever else we must have we
must have at least two olive
branches, peace with God and peace
with man. When I say peace with
God, I do not mean to represent God
as an angry chieftain, having a
grudge against us, but I do mean to
eflirm that there is no more antag
onism between a hound and a hare,
between a hawk and a pullet, be
tween elephant and swine, than there
is hostility between holiness and sin.
And if God is all holiness and we are
all sin there must be a treaty, there
must be a stretching forth of olive
branches.
There is a great lawsuit gjing on
now, and it is a lawsuit which man is
bringing against his Maker. That
lawsuit is now on the calendar. It is
the human versus the Divine, it is ini
quity versus the immaculate, it is
weakness versus omnipotence. Man
began it. God did not begin the law
suit. We began it. We assaulted our
Maker, and the sooner we end this
part of the struggle, in wnich the
finite attempts to overthrow the in
finite and omnipotent—the sooner we
end it the better. Travelers tell us
there is no such place as Mount
Calvary, that it is only a hill, only an
insignificant hill, but I persist in
calling it the mount of God’s divine
mdrcy and love, far grander than
any other place on earth, grander
than the Alps or the Himalayas, and
there are no other hills as compared
with it, and I have noticed in every
sect where the cross of Chris., is set
forth it is planted with olive
branches. And all we have to do is
to get rid of this war between God
and ourselves, of which we are all
tired. We want to back out of the
war, we want to get rid of this hos
tility. All we havj to do is just to
get up on the mount of God’s bless
ing and pluck these olive branches
and wave them before the throne.
Peace through our Lord Jesus
Christ!
Oh, it does not make much differ
ence what the world thinks of you,
but come into the warm, intimate,
glowing and everlasting relationship
with the God of the whole universe! j
That is the joy that makes a hal
leluiah seem stupid. Why do we want
to have peace through our Lord Jesus
Christ? Why, if we had gone on in
10,000 years of war against God we
could not have captured so much as
a sword or a cavalry stirrup or
t— isted off one of the wheels of the
chariot of his omnipotence. But the
moment we bring this olive Dranch
God and all Heaver, come on our side.
Peace through our Lord Jesus Christ,
anything'.
But my text takes a step further,
and it says. Go into the mountain
and fetch olive branches and pine
branches and palm branches. Now, the
palm tree was very much honored
by the ancients. It had 360 different
uses. The fruit was conserved, the
sap was a beverage, the stems were
ground up for food for camels. The
base of the leaves was turned into
hats and mats and baskets, and from
the root to the top of the highest
leaf there was usefulness. The tree
grew 85 feet in height sometimes,
and it spread leaves four and five feet
long. It meant usefulness, and it
meant victory—usefulness for what
it produced and victory because it
was brought into celebrations of
iriumph. And oh, how much we want
the palm branches in the churches
of Jesus Christ at this time! A
great many Christi&ns'Mo not amount
to anything. You have to shove
them off the trae.; to let the Lord’s
chariots come along.
I know the old plan was, the plan
row is, in regard to worldly invest
ments—you hear it, merchants tell
you—do not put everything into one
thing, do not put all your eggs into
one basket. But I have to tell you
in this matter of religion you had
better give your all to God and then
get in yourself. Oh, says some one,
“My business is to sell silks and
cloths,” Well, then, my brother, sell
silks and cloths to the glory of God.
And some one says, “My business is
to raise corn and carrots.” Then,
my brother, raise corn and carrots to
the glory of God. And some one
says, “My business is to manufacture
horseshoe nails.” Then manufacture
horseshoe nails to the glory of God.
There is nothing for you to do that
you ought to do but for the glory of
God.
Usefulness is typified by the palm
tree. Ah, we do not want in the
church any more people that are
merely weeping willows, sighing into
the water, standing and admiring
their long lashes in the glass}' spring.
No wild cherry, dropping bitter fruit.
We want palm trees, holding some
thing for God, something for angels,
something for man. I am tired and
sick ot this flat, tame, insipid, satin
slippered, nambypamby, hightytighty
religion! It is worth nothing for this
world, and it is destruction for eter
nity. Give me 500 men and women
fully consecrated to Christ, and we
will take this city for God in three
years. Give me 10,000 men and
women fully up to the Christian
standard. In ten years 10,000 of
them would take the whole earth for
God. But when are we going to be
gin? We all want to be useful. There
is not a man in the pews that does
not want to be useful. When are
we going to begin?
But the palm branch also meant
victory. You all know' that. In all
ages, in all lands, the palm branch
means victory. Well, now, we are by
nature the servants of satan. He
stole us, he has his eye on us, he
wants to keep us. But word comes
from our Father that if we will try
to break loose from this doing of
wrong our Father will help us, and
we look the black tyrant in the face,
and we fly at him, and we wrestle
him down, and we put our heel on
his neck, and we grind him in the
oust, and we say, “Victory, victory,
through our Lord Jesus Christ!” Oh
what a grand thing it is to have sin
under our foot and a wasted life be
hind our backs. “Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven and whose
sin is covered.”
Do you not think we had better
begin now to celebrate the coming
victory? In the old meeting house
at Somerville my father used to lead
the singing, and he had the old fash
ioned tuning fork, and he would
strike it upon his knee, and then
put the tuning fork to his ear to
eateh the right pitch and start the
hymn. But, friends, do you not think
>ve had better be catching the pitch
of the everlasting song, the song ef
victory, when we shall be more than
conquerors? Hail we not better be
gin the rehearsal on earth? “They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst
any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the
Lamb which is in the mist of the
throne shall feed them and shall lead
them to living fountains of waters;
and Hod shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes.”
But then we must have that other
olive branch, peace with man. Now,
it is very easy to get up a quarrel.
There are gunpowdery Christians all
around us, and one match of provoca
tion will set them off. It is easy
enough to get up a quarrel. But, my
brother, do you not think you had
better have your horns sawed off?
Had not you better make an apol
ogy? Had not you better submit to
a little humiliation? “Oh,” you say,
“until that man takes the first step
I will never be at peace with him.
Nothing will be done until he is ready
to take the first step!” You are a
pretty Christian. When would this
world be saved if Christ had not
taken the first step? We were in the
wrong. Christ was in the right, all
right and forever right. And yet He
took the first step. And instead of
going and getting a knotty scourge
with which to whip your antagonist,
your enemy, you hau better get up
on tne ratnant mount wiiere Christ
suffered for His enemies and just
take an olive branch, not stripping
off the soft, cool, fragrant leaves,
leaving them all on. and then try on
them that Gospel switch. It will not
hurt them, and it will save you.
Peace be with God, peace with man.
If you cannot take those two doc
trines, you are no Christian.
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts In Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
From sorrow, toil and pain
And sin we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.
You may have had accumulation ol
sorrow and misfortune. They come in
flocks, they come in herds, upon your
soul, and yet I have to tell you that
this religion can console you, that it
can help you, that it can deliver you
if nothing else will. Do you tail me
that the riches and the gain of this
world can console you? How was it
with the ecclesiastic who had such a
fondness for money that when he
was sick he ordered a basin of gold
pieces brought to him, and he put his
gouty hands down among the gold
pieces, cooling his hands off in them,
and the rattle and rolling of these
gold pieces were his amusement and
entertainment. Ah, the gold and sil
ver, the honors, the emoluments of
this \Vorld, are a poor solace for a
perturbed spirit. You want some
thing better than this world can give.
A young prince, when the children
came around to play with him, re
fused to play. He said: “I will play
only with kings.” And it would be
supposed that you would throw away
all other solace before this regal sat
isfaction, this imperial joy.
The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
City of eternity, to thy bridal halls
From this prison would I flee.
Ah, glory! That’s for you and me!
My text orings us one step turtner.
It says: “Go forth into the mount
and fetch olive branches and pine
branches and myrtle branches and
palm branches and branches of thick
trees.” Now, you know very well—
I make this remark under the head
of branches of thick trees—that a
booth or arbor made of slight
branches would not srand. The first
blast of the tempest would prostrate
it. So then the booth or arbor must
have four stout poles to hold up the
arbor or booth, and hence for the
building: of the arbor for this world
we must have stout branches of thick
trees. And so it is in the Gospel ar
bor. Blessed be God that we have a
brawny Christianity, not one easily
upset. The storms of life will come
upon us, and we want strong- doc
trine; not only love, but justice; not
only invitation, but warning. It is
a mighty Gospel; it is an Omnipotent
Gospel. These are the stout branches
of thick trees.
Well, my friends, you see I have
omitted one or two points not be
cause l forgot to present them, but
because I have not time to present
them. 1 have shown you here is the
olive branch of peace, here is the
pine branch of evergreen Gospel con
solation, here the palm tree branch
of usefulness and of victory, and lierif
are the stout branches of thick trees.
The Gospel arbor is done. The air is
aromatic of Heaven. The leaves
rustle with the gladness of God.
Come into the arbor. Come into the
booth. I went out at different times
with a fowler to the mountains to
catch pigeons, and we made our
booth, and we sat in that booth and
watched for the pigeons to come.
And we found flocks in the sky, and
after awhile they dropped into the
net, and we were successful. So I
come now to the door of this Gospel
booth. I look out. I see flocks of
souls flying hither and flying thither.
Oh, that they might come like clouds
and as doves to the window! Ccme
into the booth. Come into the booth,
FARMER AND PLANTER.
A PROFITABLE SIDE ISSUE.
Raining II<11*s On the Kami, at I’rea
ent Prices of Meat, a Profita
ble Side Line.
Hogs have always been a profitable
side issue upon every farm. They live
so cheaply and mature so quickly that
there is always a good margin of
profit. Soon after the war of the 60’s
the stealiug of hogs became such a
constant soui-ce of loss to farmers
that very many gave up- raising hogs
entirely. Having once fallen into the
habit of buying meat, a large part of
the farming population have contin
ued to do so. This has been partic
ularly so with the tenant class.
This was very unfortunate. Many
millions if dollars have been paid for
western meat that should have been
kept at home.
At present prices of meat, hogs will
pay. Every farmer should at least
raise his own home supply. He can
raise it for one-half he pays for it.
The improved breeds of hogs will
make good porkers in from nine to
eleven months.
The cost of growing them will de
pend upon the management. If a lit
tle care is taken to provide good pas
tures of Bermuda, and then arrange
ments made to supplement these with
suitable forage crops, the cost of
growing hogs will be very little.
Patches of ground-pease, cow-peas,
sorghum, sweet potatoes, etc, may be
so arranged that they will have a
constant supply of cheap food all
through the season.
The old idea of feeding hogs en
tirely upon corn has given way to
new and better methods. Growing a
succession of such crops as those men
tioned above and many others not
mentioned, makes it easy to have fine
hogs for killing that have cost very
little.
The new and improved breeds help
to do this. The hog is no longer de
pendent upon “rooting” for a living.
The old adage, “root hog or die,” is
no longer applicable. It is now “eat
hog and grow.” The best hogs have
very little disposition to root. They
prefer to eat and lie down and digest.
The roaming razor-back roadster has
had his day and passed away. The
compact, quick growing, easy fatten
ing. lazy hog has taken his place.
The chief point is to keep them
healthy by giving them plenty of wa
ter, and clean beds and a constant
change of food. The much dreaded
cholera is easily avoided by feeding
upon vegetables, such as turnips, cab
bage, potatoes, and fruits that fall
from the trees.
Not only is it well for every
farmer to raise hogs enough to make
the meat for his own farm, but hogs
are a profitable crop to grow for sale.
There is money raising hogs as a bus
iness. Not onlj' can money be made
selling pure breeds at fancy x>riees,
but selling- meat.
From all we can harn the north
west will be very short on corn. That
means short on hogs. That means
high prices for meat. That means
money to the man who has hogs for
killing, and it thrills us with pleasing
emotions to this day. Our farm was
a small affair, yet we had about forty
fine fat hogs to kill every fall. Up be
fore day, light the great log fire, heat
the rocks and with them the water.
Take the keen knife, whirl the hog
upon his back and find his heart.
Then the pulling off the hair, and
frying the melts on the hot rocks and
blowing the bladders for Christmas.
It was a jolly good time, feasting on
spare ribs, sausage and crackling
bread and brains. We can not help
feeling a sort of pity for the boy who
never took part in old time hog kill
ing.
If it paid to raise hogs in those
days, when meat was cheap, it will
pay better now, when it. is high.
A small family can raise a few hogs
from the household and kitchen slops.
These will often make a year's sup
ply of meat and cost nothing but a
little forethought.
We urge our readers to try hogs, at
least a home supply.—Dixie Farmer.
IMPORTANCE OF FALL CROPS.
A Matter the Importance of Whicli
is Not Fully Appreciated by
Southern Farmers.
The importance of all kinds of fall
crops has not been properly weighed
by southern farmers. But the long
continued heated spell out west
makes it certain that every kind of
food crop wall be more important
this fall than ever before.
It is not too late to sow turnips.
Get the yellow Aberdeen. Rutabaga,
Yellow Globe or any variety of yel
low fleshed turnips. Prepare the soil
by breaking very deep. Sub-soil ifr
you can. Then harrow until the top
is very fine. No chance to get it too
fine. Then pack it well with a roller.
Mako the rows about thirty inches.
Do not make the beds too high. You
can not cultivate the turnip crop ton
uxueii before planting. Our expex-i
ence along1 tbits line has been uni
form. The more we have worked the
soil before planting the larger crop
we have made. Cabbage seed sowed
now and transplanted as soon as
large enough will make nice, tender
heads, far better than those sown at
any other season.
Oats may be sown in cotton the lat
ter part of August. Put in with shal
low running serapes or cultivators,
followed by dust board; they will' not
injure, but rather benefit the cotton.
If the fall should prove late and the
oats get too large, they can be pas
tured. The turf oat is well adapted
to this purpose.
The new idea of making hay from
wheat is of great value to the south.
In many sections, rust so often ruins
the wheat that it is not a safe crop.
Hut the wheat may be cut just about
the time the rust makes its appear
ance; just as the full milk stage is
reached in the grain. This makes one
of the very best foods for all kinds
of farm stock. This wheat hay is
very easy to cure,and is almost equiv
alent to corn and fodded both. Horses
will plow right along and keep in
good condition with this as the only
food.
If a cutting knife is used there will
be no waste at all. The straw an
swers the purpose of fodder and the
grain takes the place of corn. The
value of the hay used in this way is
nearly or quite double the value of
the same crop if suffered to ripen and
flip ornin on/1 cirour 1 ncf
as is generally the case.
Every farmer should sow some
wheat for hay. We should not be
prejudiced against this because it is
money and this is one way of making
it. This crop can be made to come in
before any other spring food is ready.
Again and again we urge our
friends to sow alfalfa. This in the
long run is the best paying that can
be grown. It needs to be sown only
once in a lifetime. Hence it will pay
to take pains and give it a good
chance to get hold and start off well.
Every farm should have an acre of
alfalfa for each horse and cow.
Food crops for this fall, winter and
spring use will be found very profit*
able.—Southern Cultivator.
Value of the Walking; Horse.
There can be no question of the
value of a horse that is able to walk
three or four miles an hour. Some
people who are unable to look at but
one side of a question, object to such
horses, because it is impossible for a
man to plow at that gait for ten
hours a day. But this is no objection.
If a horse can go four miles an hour,
he can go three in the same length
of time, and this is none too fast for
good plowing. A slow team, going
at the rate of two miles an hour, does
not turn a furrow well, for the fur
row slice will often fall back, when
slowly turned, especially in stiff land
or sod. The quicker movement gives
sufficient velocity to throw the fur
row slice completely over and break
it loose from the subsoil. Besides, it
is better to plow one or tw-o acres a
day of six hours than the same
amount in one of ten, and the quicker
way is not only more effective in
quality of work, but is easier on the
man who is driving. In harrowing,
rolling or any of the multifarious
duties that a horse is called upon to
do on a farm, a quick movement is
indispensable to good work; and
when on the road the saving of one
fourth TO one-third the time is a
great aid to expedition in work, and
is consequently economical. A draft
horse that lias been trained to walk
four miles an hour is worth in money
fully twice as much as one that
makes 2 y2 to 3 miles an hour.
This is a rapid age, and crops must
be planted rapidly, harvested in a
hurry and gotten to market before
prcies go down, and slow horses have
no place in it.—Farmers’ Home Jour
nal.
HERE AND THERE.
—The more intelligent an animal
the better he can be controlled and
trained.
—The uses for corn are growing
and widening year by year much
more rapidly than the production.
—Generally the same breed of cat
tle do not make beef and milk. The
Jerseys excel in butter, the Holsteins
in milk, and the Shorthorns, Gallo
ways and llerefords in beef produc
ing qualities.
--Sometime, sowing rye in the corn
at the last cultivation, will afford a
great deal of feed in the shape of late
fall and early spring pasture. The
stock that ’ pastures it will at the
same time fertilize the land more or
less.
—A splendid remedy for foot rot
in cattle is a saturated solution of
alcohol and logwood. Dissolve the
logwood in a little water and then add
the alcohol. Pour it in the affected
parts. It is also good for cuts and
bruises.
—Hens deprived of green feed will
not lay well. A test was made at the
North Carolina experiment station,
wherein a pen of white Leghorns
having plenty of green food laid 114
eggs, while a similar pen without
green feed laid only 'JO.