16 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



two, were 30 years of hard work, and 

 if he would follow his present busi- 

 ness as faithfully, and as enthusiastic- 

 ally as I had followed mine, it would 

 then probably appear as rosy (to an 

 outsider, at least) as mine did to him. 



A man who had been dabbling- in 

 photography a year or two was once 

 looking- over some of my photog-raphs, 

 and praising them in a way that made 

 my cheeks tingle. Mixed with the 

 praises was the frequent exclamation 

 of "My! you must have a fine lens." 

 Before he left he was very particular 

 to know what make of lens I used. I 

 know some of the manufacturers of 

 lenses head their advertisements with 

 "It's all in the lens." Beg your par- 

 don, Mr. Manufacturer, it isn't. It's 

 all in the ma?t. Of course, a lens ap- 

 propriate for the work is very im- 

 portant, but to know how to use the 

 lens properly is most important. This 

 gentleman who was so enthusiastic in 

 his praise did not know that for ten 

 years I had been studying and prac- 

 ticing photography just as 3-ou and I 

 have studied bee-keeping — reading 

 all of the journals and books on the 

 subject. 



It is the "stayer" in any business 

 who suceeds. Each year he learns 

 better and better how to conduct his 

 business — how to avoid the mistakes. 



What hope would / now have to be- 

 come a successful physician? By the 

 time that I had finished my course at 

 college, and had sufficient practice to 

 become really an expert, a man whose 

 services were really valuable, my race 

 of life would be nearly run. I began 

 the study of bee-keeping- when only 18 

 years old — have always been in the 

 bee-keeping ranks, and hope I shall 

 never be so foolish as to desert them. 



PREPAREDNESS IS THE SECRET OF MOST 

 SUCCESSES. 



Many men have succeeded because 

 every possible preparation had been 



made in advance. They have not 

 ventured hastily, and illy-prepared. 

 For six years before I began keeping 

 bees I had been studying the subject 

 in every possible manner — reading 

 books and journals, and visiting bee- 

 keepers. When I began keeping bees 

 I probably knew as much about the 

 business as a physician knows about 

 his business when he first begins 

 practice. 



When I began publishing the Review 

 I had, for ten years, made my living 

 from the keeping of bees, I had had 

 several years' experience in writing for 

 the press, and had a large acquain- 

 tance among bee-keepers. For two or 

 three years I had had in mind the pub- 

 lishing of the Review, and was making 

 all possible preparations — saving up, 

 classifying, and booking a list of 

 names of bee-keepers, was one of the 

 preparations. 



The moment it was decided to hold 

 the National Association in Los Ange- 

 les, I began planning to make my trip 

 to California a financial success. The 

 expense of the trip would certainly 

 reach close to $100. How should it be 

 met? First I made arrangements with 

 the Santa Fe railroad for transporta- 

 tion in exchange for adv. space. 

 Through a complication, which it is 

 unnecessai"}^ to explain here, there was 

 considerable difficulty in making this 

 arrangement with the railroad, and I 

 had to write numerous letters, and 

 make three trips to Detroit to see their 

 agent, before the arrangement was 

 completed. I next made arrangements 

 with the hotel in Los Angeles to pay 

 my bill by an advertisement for the 

 hotel. Then Mr. France and myself 

 made plans to occupy the same berth 

 while on the trip. We met in Chicago 

 and filled a basket with provisions to 

 eat while on the road. About once a 

 day we had a warm meal. It may be 

 thought that some of these details are 

 unimportant, but it must not be for- 

 gotten that details in the aggregate 



