246 Old Bays on the Farm 



a successful bee-keeper, a book agent, or a politi- 

 cian, one should be able to endure the slings and 

 arrows of outrageous fortune cheerfully and al- 

 ways come up smiling. 



As a youth I recall that I pointed out to my 

 father where there was a great wastage on our 

 farm. We were letting a valuable by-product of 

 the clover-fields go to waste. I hinted that, beside 

 making hay, we should be harvesting honey and he 

 fell for my honeyed words and bought me several 

 hives of bees and all the paraphernalia appertain- 

 ing thereto. 



BEES AN INTERESTING STUDY, VERY 



I read a big book entitled, ''The Bee-keepers* 

 Manual,'* and proceeded to cultivate the acquaint- 

 ance of my improve-the-shining-hour insects, and 

 I may state right here that I formed a very close 

 acquaintanceship with quite a number of them. 

 They say it is a very interesting study to consider 

 the bee. It may be but I could never bring myself 

 to that way of thinking, at least not to consider the 

 bee at close range after a certain incident occurred. 



I've been told, or have read somewhere, that the 

 best bees come from Italy, perhaps that's where 

 these hard-working little fellows learned to become 

 so handy with the stiletto. 



I got along fairly well in the beginning — that is, 

 I managed to keep one eye good most of the time, 

 but often my face was lop-sided and I recall that 



