AN IDYL OF THE HONEY-BEE. 4T 
Apparently, every swarm of bees before it leaves 
the parent hive sends out exploring parties to look 
up the future home. The woods and groves are 
searched through and through, and no doubt the pri- 
vacy of many a squirrel and many a wood mouse is 
intruded upon. What cozy nooks and retreats they 
do spy out, so much more attractive than the painted 
hive in the garden, so much cooler in summer and 
so much warmer in winter ! 
The bee is in the main an honest citizen; she pre- 
fers legitimate to illegitimate business; she is never 
an outlaw until her proper sources of supply fail; 
she will not touch honey as long as honey-yielding 
flowers can be found; she always prefers to go to 
the fountain-head, and dislikes to take her sweets at 
second hand. But in the fall, after the flowers have 
failed, she can be tempted. The bee-hunter takes 
advantage of this fact; he betrays her with a little 
honey. He wants to steal her stores, and he first 
encourages her to steal his, then follows the thief home 
with her booty. This is the whole trick of the bee- 
hunter. The bees never suspect his game, else by tak- 
ing a circuitous route. they could easily baffle him. 
But the honey-bee has absolutely no wit or cunning out- 
side of her special gifts as a gatherer and storer of 
honey. She is a simple-minded creature, and can be 
imposed upon by any novice. Yet it is not every nov- 
ice that can find a bee-tree. The sportsman may track 
his game to its retreat by the aid of his dog, but in 
hunting the honey-bee one must be his own dog, and 
track his game through an element in which it leaves 
no trail. It is a task for a sharp, quick eye, and may 
_ test the resources of the best wood-craft. One autumn 
_ when I devoted much time to this pursuit, as the best 
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