130 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



consider the bee business as something which 

 offered me exactly what I wanted a life of 

 ease, with nothing to do and plenty of money, 

 I paid $15 for my hive stocked with bees, 

 $i for a veil to put over my head, $2 for a pair 

 of rubber gloves, and several dollars more for 

 various implements to be used, as I found out 

 afterwards, in righting the infuriated insects. 

 My bill for the original outfit was $20 and some 

 cents, according to the accounts of the business, 

 which I have kept with great care, and which 

 are now before me. During these five years I 

 have had an experience worth all the money 

 paid out, and as there may be some other 

 people anxious for a life of ease and plenty of 

 money, my experience may not be without 

 interest and profit to them. Seriously, I have 

 not had a bad time of it, and for the number 

 of hours and the amount of money which I have 

 devoted to my bees, I am inclined to congratu- 

 late myself over the result, and to advise others 

 to at least make the experiment of keeping a 

 few hives. I have never thought of honey- 

 making as any thing but the amusement of idle 

 hours in the country, and I first gave time and 

 thought to bee-raising very much as I might to 



