1S82 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



41 



few Spider plants and figworts that somehow 

 strayed across from friend Merrybanlcs' 

 premises, and the old slop-hole was truly 

 tran'jformed into a place that the cliildren 

 would have nicknamed the Garden of Eden 

 had not John's mother reproved them. 



" But, mother, is it not most beautiful V '" 

 said John. 



"Yes, my boy, it is most beautiful: but 

 you know the beauty did not come without 

 most earnest, hard work.'' 



" No. indeed, it did not, mother ; but why 

 did we not have it so last summer ? '' 



The mother did not answer : but if we 

 could have looked into her thoughts, I think 

 the answer would have been, that, a year 

 ago God and the Bible had not yet entered 

 into their little household. The garden and 

 little dooryard were not the only things that 

 had changed, for now the whole family, in- 

 . eluding both John and Mary, were menibers 

 of the little church just over the way, and 

 not only had they helped some to pay the 

 minister his salary, but a payment had been 

 made on the old gray horse ; and with the 

 amount of work Mr. Jones had found to do 

 with him, the prospect was fair that he 

 would be entirely paid for in due time. All 

 these changes had come in but little more 

 than two months' time, since that eventful 

 Saturday night. 



As Ouionville is a rather small place for 

 very much trade in a certain line, John 

 found he must make larger articles of tin- 

 ware, to do very much of a business, and 

 these would require expensive tools and ma- 

 chinery. Besides, the vacation was over, 

 and he must go to school. John once did 

 offer the suggestion, that he should attend 

 to the hotel, in place of going to school ; but 

 a single look from his mother made him 

 drop that idea. 



" Is not our boy, with all his skill and in- 

 genuity, to be also one of education and cul- 

 ture V '"' 



" But, mother, I can work at the tinware 

 nights and mornings and Saturdays, can I 

 not?" 



"Surely, my son. if you do not deprive 

 yourself "of the outdoor exercise schoolboys 

 always need." 



" And you will sell things to folks when 

 they come after them, will you not ? " 



" To be sure, I will ; and days when father 

 does not find work he is going to make some 

 things of wood that we hope may sell as well 

 as the tinware." 



" Oh I what things, mother V " 



" Well, we do not exactly know yet, but 

 perhaps, when you get home from school to- 

 night, he may show you some of them." 



Sure enough, when John got home that 

 night his father had quite a numberof knife 

 or nail boxes made up. just like the picture 

 below : — 



the cutting-up he did by means of a miter- 

 box that he found described in some old 

 volumes of Gleanings, that friend Merry- 

 banks loaned him. Lest you have forgotten 

 it, I give the picture again : — 



THE TEN-CENT KNIFE-BOX. 



The boxes were made of I bass wood, that 

 he purchased at a planing-mill near by, and 



OLDROVD y MITKK-IiOX. 



You see, he sawed the boards out to the 

 right width, planed one edge, and placed 

 these planed edges all exactly level. Then 

 they were wedged in the miter-box, which 

 had a cut to give exactly the right bevel and 

 slant, and he could saw a tight joint as easi- 

 ly as he could cut a board square off. This 

 made the sides and ends ; and when he made 

 the middle piece, that holds the handle, he 

 clamped several boards together, cut the 

 ends in the miter-box as before, and then, 

 without looseningthem, he bored three holes 

 through all, where the hand-hole is, cut out 

 the corners, and smoothed the oblong hole 

 with sandpaper. Then the whole were firm- 

 ly screwed in his vise, and the tops finished 

 down to a pattern, with draw-knife, plane, 

 and sandpaper. After the boxes were all 

 nailed (except the bottom) they were turned 

 over; and the lower edges dressed level ; and 

 then a i-inch bottom was nailed on, so as to 

 project a little on all sides, as you see. The 

 trays, as he made them, were 8^ x 12 at the 

 top, and lOi x 7 at the bottom. The sides 

 were 2i in. wide. John and Mary started 

 out in high glee to sell them among their 

 neighbors. John took six, and Mary four. 

 John's father was a carpenter by trade, and 

 knew how to do a nice job, and the pretty 

 white basswood, so neatly sandpapered, 

 seemed to captivate everybody's eye. " And 

 only ten cents V " said the people curiously ; 

 " why, I am sui-e I can afford that trifling 

 sum ; ■' and before dark every box was sold, 

 and people were coming to see if they had 

 got any more of those " handy little boxes.'' 

 Even the one that John's mother had got so 

 tidily placed on end in the pantry, leaning 

 back against the wall, with the forks on one 

 side and the knives in tlie other, had to be 

 emptied and given to a customer. Friend 

 Jones had worked pretty hard, and got only 

 $1.10 for his day's work, and the lumber he 

 had used had cost 22 cents ; but still, he felt 

 happy. This lot had been but an experi- 

 ment, and he knew he could make twice as 

 many the next day, having every thing all 

 arranged as he had. He found it quite a 

 saving to have John do the nailing, as he 

 could, after a little i)ractice, nail one in five 

 minutes, right along. 



One evening at supper, John's mother 

 looked quite tired. Selling the cups, boxes, 

 etc., aside from her other work, proved quite 

 a task, and even her boy was kind enough to 

 notice it, and put in a plea that she should 



