AT WORK. 43 



where one has in imagination performed every 

 operation in the art of modern bee-keeping until 

 thoroughly familiar with it, and where there is a 

 strong determination to succeed as will lead to 

 daily attention to the most minute details. Even 

 if one has all these qualifications he cannot succeed 

 as well as I did unless he has a location equally 

 good. Bees collect honey from flowers. If there 

 are but few honey-producing flowers they can get 

 but little honey. If there is an abundance of 

 honey-producing bloom they will, if wisely man- 

 aged, gather very large quantities indeed. 



The next Saturday morning Will and I began 

 nailing hives. Thanks to our father's ideas of a 

 practical education, we both knew how to use a 

 hammer, still the work of putting hives together 

 was new, and our progress was slow at first. There 

 were four pieces for the body of each hive, and five 

 for the lid. These were to be most accurately 

 fitted together, and thoroughly nailed, for hives, 

 exposed constantly to storms and changes of tem- 

 perature, are liable to warp and split. We found 

 that the cutting out had been done in a workman- 

 like manner. The measurements of the pieces were 

 exact, and all fitted together perfectly. It was best 

 to make haste slowly. Speed would come with 

 practise. So we did not hurry, but fitted every 

 piece carefully to its place, and put every nail in 



