BEEKEEPERS IN STRANGE PLACES 
63 
every kind of life? And how little, comparatively 
speaking, disturbs the harmony of the hive! 
In the life and achievements of the honey bee, 
nature’s economy and extravagance—purposeful 
extravagance—can easily be seen. 
Economy, in the finely constructed hexagonal 
cells, whose sides fit together in a way which mathe¬ 
maticians have declared to be the most saving of 
space which could be devised for a honey comb or 
any similar structure. 
Extravagance, as we have mentioned previously, 
in the overproduction of drones and queen cells and 
the storing of honey far above their needs. 
Bees are very adaptable. They will build their 
combs with equal readiness in a hollow tree, in the 
partitions of a house, in a wash tub, a grocery box, 
under a rocky ledge (in warm climates), or in a 
modern, movable-frame Langstroth hive, that has 
an attendant beekeeper. 
At one time, I had to stay out west for a year and 
a half. Although I was very happy in the West, a 
year and a half seemed a long time to be away from 
New England and my bees. No opportunity to see 
or do anything with bees offered itself. In fact, I 
hardly saw a bee, except casually on the flowers, 
until shortly before I took an east-bound train home- 
