104 



AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



illustration, "Catching a Swarm," on page 

 modern bellows of the Pender type (fig. 2). 



87. 



I prefer tne 



Fig. 2 



Now, away in the bush many a good swarm of bees can be 

 obtained in the way our hero with the smoker in his hand is doing. 

 It i? evident he is not gone out for honey and honey alone. Note 

 his accompaniments. Nevertheless, by these he appears to be 

 satisfied with two things — the bees and the honey. When you are 

 chopping out a bees' nest you must go in for one thing more, 

 the young brood in the comb. The bees are all very well as far 

 as they go; they will do to unite with a weaker colony, or if they 

 are numerically strong lay the foundation for a good colony, but 

 the majority by far are mature bees, and their days are numbered. 

 The life of the youngest of them at the outside will not be more 

 than two months. The brood comb is the most valuable portion 

 of the operator's find; therefore, it will be so to you if you are 

 going to do likewise. 



You know the cook's old adage, "first catch your hare." 

 When you have found your bees' nest, if the bees' entrance to the 

 nest be within easy reach smoke the bees as the tree stands. Of 

 course before you do that you will encase yourself as shown. There 

 is no advantage to be obtained in giving them "a regular good dose 

 of it." After three or four good whiffs of smoke have been 

 driven in, rest awhile, and when the smoke has cleared away note 

 the direction the bees are coming out from the entrance ; that is, 

 see if they are coming up from below or down from above. That 

 little bit of observation will save you a deal of chopping. Do not 

 fell the tree till you are sure the nest is out of your reach. If you 

 fell the tree the chances are when it reaches the ground with a 

 thud the comb will break into one conglomerate mass, and when 

 you take out its contents it will be a perfect hotch-potch. By all 



