November 16, 1871. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOKTICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



389 



and bnzz about that maple-sugar of oura until I am really 

 afraid to go near it." 



" Fog's right about, do they, Miss Mamie ? " " Fogs " is a 

 favourite phrase of Max's, and does duty in all sorts of ways. 

 "Well, them's some of my molasses-makers," he continued; 

 "if you like honey, I'll take up the hive to-morrow, and let 

 you see how we ' line a bee tree.' " 



" Bee-hunting," said Max, as we left the shanty the next 

 morning for our hunt, " always reminds me of General Grant, 

 ior, like him, we fights it out on one line till we gets through." 



" Ain't very far to that hive ; warn't gone long, anyhow," 

 quoth Max, as he gently shut the box lid and tapped on the 

 box, to make the bees leave the honey in the bottom and rise 

 to the top, so that he might shove in the little slide that divided 

 the box in the centre, thus separating the bees from the honey. 

 Picking up the box. Max started on the hne, the party follow- 

 ing after, each endeavouring to assist in locating the line. A 

 quarter of a mile traversed in this way, we were halted by Max 

 setting down the bee-box, drawing out the slide, and covering 

 the box with his hat. (The box has a little glass window in 



^>.3 C 



" Smudging for Bees." 



We soon reached our old clearing, when Max produced his 

 Uttle bee-box, from which he took some honeycomb, and put it 

 in a little fire which I had quickly kindled on a convenient log. 



"You see, girls," said he to the ladies, "the bees scents 

 this from a mile or more away, and comes to see me when I 

 nail them so. Then I feeds the little chaps this way'" said 

 Max, as he placed some honey in the bottom of the bee-box. 

 IDuring the time that we waited for the arrival of Max's bees, 

 the good fellow entertained us with stories of bear, panther, 

 wolves, lynx, and all manner of things peculiar to the woods. 



" Max ! Max ! here they come !" cried one of the girls, who, 

 ■in listening to the stories, had not neglected to watch the bee- 

 box. 



" Enow'd that some time ago," said Max ; " only wanted to 

 see whether they were going to get into the box without my 

 help ; but I guess they be. We'll watch 'em for a while, then 

 put our mark on a few to see how far away they live." 



The bees had by this time gotten well to work, seeing which. 

 Max took some flour and dropped a little on the backs of two 

 or three of the bees that were busy on the honey. By this time 

 «ven the ladies had decided the line, for it was easy enough to 

 watch the flight of the bee, from the time that it left the box, 

 •oircled a few times, then directed its flight in a " bee-line " 

 toward the hive. The marked bees soon returned and re- 

 entered the open box. 



" Workmg down the Bee Tree.'' 



the top.) Peeping in, and discovering that the bees were at 

 work on the honey, he took away the hat and opened the box. 

 In a short time we were again on the line, and in two more 

 " tries " lined the honey-makers to their abode in the great 

 trunk of an ancient birch tree. 



Max's axe now came into use, and as the tree came crashing 

 down we dashed forward and stopped with moss the hole used 

 by the bees as their entrance and exit. EoUs of thin birch 

 bark were now lighted and held to the hole, from which the 

 plug had been removed. 



" Bees don't fight fire much before they gives up and takes 

 the back track for the honey," said Max, when the bees had 

 ceased the useless contest and he was engaged in chopping out 

 the ' big chips " that were to reveal the sweets. Soon we were 

 removing the great combs of honey from the tree-trunk hive to 

 the pails that we had brought with us. 



On our way back to the shanty Max told how other bees, 

 attracted by the honey, would come, and sometimes great 

 battles would be fought ; and the bees whose honey was lost, 

 being weaker, would be defeated, and if their queen was killed 

 would go ofi with the other bees and make sugar for them, 

 thus starting another bee-tree for future capture. 



Nearly 100 lbs. of honey was distributed from our bee-tree, 

 besides the quantity that we consumed onrselyes. — [HariJefs 

 Weekly.) 



