BOOK IX. VIII. 10-12 



emerge one after another, and marks the direction 

 in which most of them fly home, and pursues 

 them until he is led to the lurking-place of the swarm. 

 If it is hidden in a cave, the swarm will be driven 

 out with smoke, and when it has sallied forth, it is 

 checked by the noise of brass being beaten ; for, 

 terrified by the sound, it will immediately settle on 

 a shrub or on a higher kind of foliage, that of a tree, 

 and is enclosed in a vessel prepared for the purpose by 

 the man who has tracked down the bees. But if the 11 

 swarm has its home in a hollow tree and either the 

 branch which the bees occupy stands out from the 

 tree or they are inside the trunk of the tree itself, 

 then, if the small size of the branch or trunk allows, 

 first the upper part, which is empty of bees, is cut 

 thi'ough with a saw which should be very sharp so 

 that the operation may be more quickly carried out, 

 and then the lower part so far as it seems to be 

 inhabited. Then, when it has been cut off at both 

 ends, it is covered with a clean garment (for this too 

 is very important), and if there are any gaping holes," 

 they are daubed over, and it is carried to the place 

 where the bees are kept, and, small holes being left 

 in it, as I have said, it is put in position like the rest 

 of the hives. The seai'cher for swarms should 12 

 choose the morning for his search, so that he may 

 have the whole day to spy out the comings and 

 goings of the bees. For often, if he is too late in 

 beginning to observe them, when they have finished 

 their usual tasks, they go home and do not return to 

 the water, even though they are near at hand, with 

 the result that the man who is searching for them 

 does not know how far away the swarm is from the 



" I.e. in the vessel. 



457 



