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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



June 25, 



small tumbler best. Take the tumbler in one hand, holding 

 the other hand over, and get both as near as can be to the bee 

 you want to catch; bring the tuojbler and hand together 

 quick, with the bee between. If you have the flower on your 

 hand you can let the flower slip out while the bee is buzzing 

 on the other end of the tumbler. 



Now, keep your hand on the tumbler so that the bee can- 

 not get out; go to box No. 1, bring the tumbler as near the 

 wax as you can, and while the bee is trying to get out of the 

 upper end of the tumbler, drop it on the wax — not hard, but 

 as lightly as you can, so as not to settle it in the wax. Now 

 hold around the box and all, an old felt hat, so as to make it 

 dark, when the bee will see the honey, and load up. Now, 

 when she stops buzzing, take the hat off carefully ; also take 

 it off so the sun will not throw a shadow over the box, or the 

 bee may leave, and you would have to get another. Now 

 while she takes her load, get out your watch, and lie down on 

 your back so that your feet will be near the stick that box 

 No. 1 is on, and watch the box. 



If your bee did not daub, she will come out on the wing. 

 If she daubs, she will crawl out, and hang on the outside of 



may be too nearly loaded to be of use to you to move. When 

 a bee comes back, bring up box No. 2, which should fit over 

 box No. 1, and as quick as you can get the bee up shove the 

 slide, and all the bees on the box are shut up in box No. 2. 



Now take box No. 3, set that on box No. 2, the glass of 

 both boxes outside. Open both slides, darken No. 2, and the 

 bees will go into box No. 3, and your bees are all in box No. 3. 



Now lay down No. 3, take No. 2, catch more until you 

 have about six hungry bees, not counting the bees that were 

 in box No. 1 when you caught the first bee. 



Now you might think that box No. 3 is not necessary, but 

 when you put box No. 2 on box No. 1 to catch another bee, 

 the bee you have will run down, nine times out of ten, and she 

 will get so much honey in her that she would not locate well 

 when you move the box. 



To get your cross-line, you should, while running the first 

 line, watch for an open spot or field, where you can set the 

 box ; it should be 20 rods or more one side of first line. Hav- 

 ing such a spot, set box No. 1 just as before, lie on your back 

 and get this line just as you did the first one, and when you 

 come to the cross-line, you are very near the tree. 



No. 3. 



No. 1. 



No. 2. 



the box. Waste no time on her, but catch another, and try 

 again. 



Now, when the bee comes out on the wing, keep your eye 

 on her, and if you are quick, and keep her between you and 

 the sky, you are all right. 



Now mark some object the bee flies over (in your mind), 

 that is, when the bee has stopped circling. Look at your 

 watch, and if the bee gets back in 15 minutes, the tree is 

 within half a mile. 



Now catch another bee and put her in the box as before. 

 You can generally catch about three bees, and put in the box 

 before the first one gets back. But as soon as one comes 

 back, and buzzes around the box, get out of the way and let 

 her load, and you need catch no more. But while she loads, 

 lie down as before, and watch to see which way she goes. 



Now that you have bees to work, you must get an exact 

 line. To do this, you must be patient, and lie on your back, 

 and watch every bee that leaves the box, and as she flies home 

 she will fly over something that you can take for your line. 



To know you have a line, there must be a number of bees 

 flying over the exact spot. Set your compass, and run that 

 line out just as exact as if you were surveying land worth 

 $100 per acre. When you are running out the first line, and 

 judging by the time the bees were gone home — for you must 

 run the line, also — you must mark the line so you will know 

 it, when you get to it with your cross-line. You should have 

 left box No. 1 right where it was, well loaded with the sweet, 

 so the bees were working all the time. 



Now go back and take box No. 2 and stand close to box 

 No. 1, and watch. Don't catch the bees in the box, as they 



Don't think that the tree you see is just the right one for 

 a bee-tree, for they will surprise you very much. Look at 

 every thing, big and little. Also, don't look as you would look 

 for a grizzly bear. They may be so high that by looking a 

 long time in one place you may see just a streak ; or they may 

 be so slow that the first you will know is a whack on the side 

 of the head. 



In hunting the bees in box No. 1, you can set box No. 2 

 right over box No. 1, darken it, and they will go down, or you 

 can put them into the tumbler. 



If bees are getting honey off the flowers, they may not 

 come back ; if they don't get back in two hours, set box No. 

 1 where you had it the first time, and go it all over again, ex- 

 cept running the line. If they do not come back the second 

 time, let them work one day, so that they will get thoroughly 

 aroused. As said before, for bait I use honey and water, 

 about one-third water, in a bottle ; mix well. Don't use it if 

 it gets sour. If you can't get honey take granulated sugar, and 

 make a thin syrup. Don't let any one bother you by telling 

 you oil of anise. If no bees can be caught when you wish to 

 set your box, take a fire-shovel, or tin plate, and burn some 

 pieces of old wax until they come. When burning wax set 

 the box handy, and may be the first bee that comes will jump 

 right in the box. Also have the box or tumbler handy, so you 

 can trap one of them over the bee before she gets in the fire 

 or burning wax. Colby, Wis. 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 

 should be an agent for it, and get all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for it. 



