362 
PURCHASING STOCKS. 
WHY THE WORD LUCK IS APPLIED TO BEES. 
There has been so much uncertainty in stock of this 
kind, that the word luck has been made to express too 
much. Some have been successful, while others have 
failed entirely; this has suggested the idea that luck 
depended on the manner that the stocks were obtain- 
ed ; and here again there seems to be a variety of 
opinions, as is the case always, when a thing is guessed 
at. One will assert that the “ fickle dame” is charmed 
into favor by stealing a stock or two to begin with, 
and returning them after a start. Another, (a little 
more conscientious, perhaps) that you must take them 
without liberty , to be sure, but leave an equivalent in 
money on the stand. Another, that the only way to 
get up an effectual charm, is to exchange sheep for 
them ; and still another says, that bees must always be a 
gift. I have had all these methods offered me gratis, 
with gravity, suitable to make an impression. And, 
finally, there has yet another method been found out, 
and that is, when you want a few stocks of bees go 
and buy them, yes, and pay for them too, in dollars 
and cents, or take them for a share of the increase for 
a time, if it suits your pecuniary resources best. And 
you need not depend on any charm or mystic power 
for your success — if you do, I cannot avoid the un- 
favorable prediction of a failure. It is true that a few 
have accidentally prospered for a few years ; I say acci- 
dentally, because when they have no true principles of 
management, it must be the result of accident. It is 
a saying with some, that “ one man can’t have luck 
but few years at once,” and others none at all, although 
