28 AMERICAN BEES, 



the country. And it is said that where monkeys 

 abound, the wonderful instinct of the bee teaches it 

 that the only safe place in which to build its nest, in 

 order to be out of the way of these active thieves, is_ 

 on the topmost and most slender boughs of the trees, 

 where even a monkey cannot climb. 



In some parts of the country, where the nests are 

 in hollow trees, or any other accessible place, a bee hunt 

 often affords great amusement as well as profit. The 

 hunter goes out near the woods, and, after catching a 

 bee, gives it as much honey as it can eat and carry ; 

 and then, getting himself into a good position, so 

 that when the bee flies he can see its little form 

 against the light sky, he lets it go. The bee, after 

 making a circle or two, goes straight home, the man 

 watching it as far as he can, and taking particular 

 notice of the direction in which it goes. It soon 

 comes back again for some more honey, and the 

 hunter knows it to be the same bee, for he has marked 

 it with a little red paint. 



Again he feeds the bee as before, and then, going 

 in the direction he saw it take the first time, he lets it 

 go again, and marks its flight. And so, by degrees, 

 he gets nearer and nearer to the nest. 



Then he takes his bee, and goes to the right or 

 left of the line, and lets it go again. Straight it flies, 

 making thus, of course, a new ' bee-line,' as it is called 

 at a certain angle to the first line. Observing this 

 carefully, the hunter knows that where these two 

 so-called lines meet one another is the exact spot 

 where he will find the nest. So it proves, and he 

 takes the honey. It requires, of course, much care 



