WILD BEES OF AMERICAN FORESTS 263 



nearest farm. Occasionally visits were paid to this farm 

 to dispose of venison, &c., and obtain in return eggs, pork, 

 and flour. These visits were paid by Splits more fre- 

 quently than was strictly necessary, for there was a 

 pretty girl or two there that — he made no secret — took 

 his fancy. One of these young ladies suggested that 

 he should get her some honey. I thought this was a 

 joke at the time, but a day or two after I noticed Splits 

 gazing upward towards the sky like a daft man ; then he 

 began to run to the forest, dodging about in a most 

 eccentric manner. I went after him to learn what was 

 the matter, not a little alarmed, fearing he had been 

 suddenly smitten with an attack of dementia. " It's a 

 bee, boy ; don't you see ? " said he ; and looking carefully 

 I did indeed see a bee high up, sailing about in that 

 seemingly lumbering, aimless manner to which bees are 

 often given, but I could see nothing remarkable about 

 the insect, and asked why it so interested him. Instead 

 of answering, he rushed on into the interior of the forest, 

 and I followed him, his sole anxiety being apparently to 

 avoid losing sight of this solitary insect. Soon we saw 

 others, and after a chase of nearly a mile, came to a tree, 

 far up the trunk of which many bees were flying in and 

 out of a small hole. " That's a bee-stock. Now for a 

 frolic," said Splits. 



This was delayed for the time being, till we should 

 have Jake with us, and the spot being carefully marked 

 we went in search of him. It was not until the next 

 day that the nest was taken. The usual way of getting 

 at the honey is to fell the tree, and then smoke out the 

 bees, but this is a clumsy way, much, and sometimes all 

 the honey being spoilt in the fall of the tree, and as 

 the honey in this case was the principal object, it was 

 decided to endeavour to get rid of the bees without 

 running this risk. To effect this Jake ascended the 

 tree, and bundles of dry grass being passed up to him 

 by means of a string, he fixed them to a forked stick, 



