THE GENESEE FARMER. 



57 



HUNTING WILD BEES. 



• The best method of hunting Wild bees ; together with the 

 tools used, etc." 



HuNTixG wild bees is something of a trade ; and, 

 as I have worked a little at it, I will describe my 

 saethod of doing the thing, and the tools with 

 which I work. And tirst, tlie tools : I have a box 

 made of thin pine boards (hith will do,) eight inch- 

 es long, four inches wide, and three inches deep, 

 ■with a loose cover. In one side of the box, at the 

 top, and half way the length, I cut a triangular 

 hole, each side of which is one-fourth of an ificli, 

 so that I can cover it with the end of my middle 

 finger, when carrying the box. lu this box I fit a 

 piece of old, sound, dry honey-comb, (such as has 

 been used by the bees for brood-comb,) so tight 

 that it will not fall out if the box is turned upside 

 down. Next, I prepare a " stand," by taking a 

 piece of sapling, one and a half inches in diameter 

 and five feet long, and after cutting the butt off 

 square, I split into quarters about a foot, and insert 

 some pieces of wood at the bottom of the splits, so 

 as to hold them open about three inches at their 

 ends, for the box to stand on; then sharpen the 

 top end, so that it can be stuck into the ground. I 

 use a piece of an old, broken dinner pot, or other 

 cast iron vessel, about six inches in diameter, to 

 burn comb on to "raise the bees," if I can find 

 none on the flowers, or if it is out of season for 

 flowers. These, with an axe, a bottle of honey, 

 and a handle-basket to carry my " traps " in, are 

 all the tools absolutely necessary for bee-hunting; 

 though some carry a pocket telescope, for better 

 seeing the bees. 



Now, as to my method of hunting: I reduce my 

 honey a little with water, and put but a little at a 

 time into the comb. In one corner of the box I 

 put a small ball of soft paper, on which I have 

 dropped a drop or two of oil of anise. By no 

 means put any anise into the honey. I catch a 

 single bee in my box, holding my finger over the 

 hole until he is still, and then I set the box on the 

 stand, which I have previously stuck into the 

 ground. Be very careful not to disturb him, by 

 opening the box to look in ; for, as soon as he has 

 filled himsalf, he will come out at the hole, exam- 

 ine the box and premises a little and fly away to 

 his hive. Do not catch another bee, but wait pa- 

 tiently for this to return, which he will do .in fif- 

 teen or twenty minutes, if he has not been hurt or 

 disturbed. One can hardly ever get a correct line 

 the first time the bee goes. Probably about the 

 second or third time he returns, others will come 

 with him. I never make the first move, until I 

 got three or four bees to coming; then, after get- 

 ting a correct line, I move as fast as possible, from 

 forty to sixty rods at a time, until I am satisfied I 

 have come to, or passed the tree. If past the tree, 

 look back on the line, or get a cross line. The best 

 way to examine a tree is to stand close to the trunk, 

 and look up it, or look around it, near the outer 

 extremities of the limbs. Bees generally go in at 

 the east or south side of the tree, and sometimes 

 at tlie west side, I never found a tree where they 

 went in at the north side. Tf it is out of season for 

 flowers, make a small fire, set over it the piece of 

 iron, and heat it nearly red hot ; then take it oiF 

 and put into it, a little at a time, some broken hon- 

 ey-comb, and burn it. If there are any bees within 



a hundred rods of you to the leeward of the smoke, 

 they will soon come to you. As soon as you hear 

 one, uncover your box, and he will soon find it. 

 As soon as he goes to work, proceed as before, 

 keeping the box covered. They will soon learn to 

 work through the liole. 



Now, about getting the honey — supposing you 

 liave touud it. Some make a large brusli-heap to 

 fall the tree on to, so as not to break it ; othei's 

 " ease it down," by falling it on to another tree 

 that has been partly cut down. 1 find it the best 

 v/ay to fall tlie tree as fiat on tiie ground as possi- 

 ble. Have a small fire burning as near where the 

 iiuney will fall as conveifR'Ut ; and have several 

 large brimstone njatclies ready. As soon as the 

 tree is down, "go in " and smother and burn the 

 bees as they arise. They will not show figlit long, 

 but will rise and go up to where the hive was. 

 Some use small wisps of' straw for burning the 

 bees, but it is a slovenly way. In some seasons, I 

 have made bee-hunting quite profitable. A few 

 years since, I cut a pine tree, out of which I took 

 two hundred and thirteen lbs. of honey, weighed 

 in the comb. The same season, I took ninety lbs. 

 of strained honey out of a hemlock; besides seve- 

 ral (jthers <jf thirty or forty lbs. each. From forty 

 to sixty lbs. is considered a fair yield. 



^-^. Almond X. Y. ' W'M. HOWE. 



DWAKF PEAS TREES. 



On the best treatment of Dwarf Pear Trees, which were set out 

 a few years ago, and have been neglected. 



The neglect wliich orcliards receive after i)lant- 

 ing, in all parts of the country, is of various kinds; 

 in fact, in many cases neglect is coincident with 

 every act of the planter. Trees are ])urchased, 

 very generally, without the least ])reparation hav- 

 ing been previously made for their reception — even 

 the site they are to occupy has never been consid- 

 ered; consequently, they are planted where it is 

 most convenient for the time, which, frequently, is 

 quite unadapted to the purpose. 



A suitable soil having been selected for the or- 

 chard — and experience has proved that a gO(xl 

 limestone or wheat soil is the most j)referable, al- 

 though the dwarf pear tree will adapt itself to a 

 wide range — the next consideration, and of the 

 first importance. Is the drainage. How many who 

 read these lines, that have planted orchards, can 

 say they have not neglected them in this particu- 

 lar? How few orchards there are that would not 

 be improved by thorough drainage! It must be 

 insisted upon, and talked about, and line must be 

 written upon line, and precept upon ])recept, until 

 it shall be thoroughly com[irehended and_ settled, 

 as an elementary principle, that good drainage, in 

 nearly all soils and for all crops, and especially for 

 orchards, is a condition essential to economical 

 production. 



Deep plowing, for orchards, is seldom attended 

 to; and the trees are compelled to obtain their 

 sustenance from a few inches of earth, at the sur- 

 face, which, from a previous exhausting process of 

 tillage, is unable to yield any but a miinmum 

 amount of plant food, while a few inches below 

 lies a full store, locked up in the hard earth. 



The want of proper pruning of trees, at the time 

 of planting and afterwards, is one of the most 

 conajnon abuses. 



