"Bees!" exclaimed his grandmother. "What in the world do you want with bees? Isn't it bad enough around the farm already with yellow-jackets and bumble-bees, without bringing any more here? I should think you would get stung enough by the wild bees without wanting to bring a lot of honey bees to the farm."
"Yes, grandmother, but you forget that the wild bees don't make any honey, or earn anything for us, and honey bees would be earning money all the time. I've been reading in one of the farmers' bulletins that a good colony of bees would make 30 pounds of honey in a season, which at 20 cents per pound would be worth $6.00, and the only thing we would have to do would be to look them over carefully and smoke them once in a while when they swarmed," he replied.
"Say, Bob, did John White put these bees in your bonnet?" asked his uncle suddenly.
[Illustration with caption: BEES ARE A PROFITABLE SIDE LINE THAT PAY
IN INCREASED CROPS OF FRUIT AS WELL AS HONEY AND REQUIRE LITTLE CARE]
"No, it was an idea I got out of one of the farm bulletins," he replied.
"Well, I think you had better give up reading those bulletins for a while, and keep your mind on your plowing," said his uncle.
"Why, didn't I do lots of work this morning, Uncle Joe?" asked Bob surprised.
"Yes, of course; but I mean you can't work and think both," said his uncle.
"Why not, Uncle Joe? Don't you remember what Mr. Dow, the insurance man, said about the farmers that didn't think?"
"Well, anyhow, I draw the line at buying bees," replied his uncle firmly.