IV. 



BEGINNINGS. 



It was the middle of January when this determin- 

 ation was reached. It was already time to begin. 

 My school would not close for two months, but much 

 could be done in the way of preparation even while 

 I was teaching. My first outlay had been for bee- 

 literature. The books and journals had opened to 

 me the whole science of bee-culture. I looked over 

 again all the advertisements, and made out another 

 list of books, including the recent back volumes 

 of all the journals published in America. This 

 purchase, with what I had bought before, amounted 

 to $34 65. It was a somewhat extravagant ex- 

 penditure, will be the thought of many. But I 

 wanted as full knowledge of the experiences of 

 others as could be obtained. The books and jour- 

 nals gave this experience quite fully, reporting 

 failures as well as successes. There was no way in 

 which I could so easily make the acquaintance of 

 bee-keepers as through their writings. There was 

 no practicable way of learning what had been found 



33 



