AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



635 



jaMES a. GREEN. 



The subject of this sketch, while still 

 in his teens, decided to make the road 

 leading through the apiary his royal 

 road to fortune. Giving to his chosen 

 profession the close study and hard 

 work always necessary to make a suc- 

 cess of any profession, bringing to it the 

 stimulus of a decided taste for bee-keep- 

 ing, and a natural aptitude for its de- 

 tails, he is likely, before he is much 

 older, to find " plenty of room at the 

 top." 



Mr. Green was born about thirty years 

 ago in the little town of Dayton, on the 

 banks of Fox River, in Illinois. While 

 he has built up an extensive business, 

 and quite a national reputation among 

 bee-keepers, this town always has been 

 and continues to be his home. 



His practical experience with bees 

 began in 1878, during the absence of 

 his father, who was at that time a bee- 

 keeper on a small scale. Swarming 

 time came on, the colonies needed atten- 

 tion, and James and his mother stepped 

 promptly into the breach. All went 

 well with the experiment ; and when Mr. 

 Green returned from Colorado, the boy 

 had found his vocation. 



He began with 20 colonies of bees in 

 box-hives. He found it hard to gather 

 information about his new business, 

 and, for lack of this knowledge, carried 

 it on for some time in a primitive way, 

 which the modern bee-keeper would con- 

 sider very antiquated. But James was 

 a very determined boy, and he did not 

 believe there was any need of standing 

 still or going back because the way 

 ahead looked rather difficult. So he 

 diligently read on, gathering from books 

 and magazines some knowledge, and a 

 little insight into the ways of bees. At 

 last, in the A B C of Bee-Culture, he 

 found the solution of his difficulties. 

 James learned his A B C's thoroughly, 

 and henceforth his upward path became 

 comparatively easy. 



"Progressive and determined " make 

 a very good combination, and this boy 

 had both qualities. Gradually the old- 

 fashioned methods and appliances gave 

 place to new, improved, and scientific 

 ones. The ingenious hand of the mas- 

 ter of the, bee-yard supplemented his 

 tools with handy contrivances of his 

 own, and the apiary grew and grew 



until now, 1891, it numbers 300 colo- 

 nies, and its product goes to many of the 

 great cities of the country. 



More than this, while Mr. Green is 

 still, and always will be, a student, his 

 knowledge of bees and their culture is so 

 wide, accurate, and practical, that he 

 takes rank among the best authorities 

 in these matters. His name was re- 

 cently sent by the Secretary of the 

 Smithsonian Institute for admission to 

 one of the great scientific societies of 

 France — a high honor for so young a 

 man who has been only eleven years in 

 the work. 



Back of every good man is a good 

 mother. Back of nearly every success- 

 ful man is a sympathetic mother or 



James A. Green. 



wife. Mr. Green is not an exception to 

 this rule. From their babyhood, Mrs. 

 Green took an interest in all that her 

 boys cared to do — an interest no less 

 wise and thoughtful than it was devoted. 

 Each boy felt that mother was his par- 

 ticular partner, giving an intelligent 

 appreciation to all the details of his 

 boyish plans for the future, and sympa- 

 thizing with his ups and downs. 



When Frank, the chemist, hid his be- 

 loved bottles on the high shelf of the 

 dining-room cupboard, mother did not 

 scold, nor ever ask to have them taken 

 away. She only told Frank to be very 

 careful how near he placed them to the 

 eatables. 



