382 The Honey-Makers 



that they usually prefer to take to the woods instead of 

 proceeding to the comfortable hives provided for them, 

 unless man interferes and compels them to stay where he 

 wants them. Occasionally a swarm is very obstinate, how- 

 ever, and as often as it is hived will swarm out until it suc- 

 ceeds in making good its escape. 



" Bells' ding-dong 

 And choral song 

 Deter the bee 

 From industry ; 

 But hoot of owl 

 And ' wolf's long howl ' 

 Incite to moil 

 And steady toil," 



runs an old German rhyme, which is not devoid of truth. 



The inhabitants of the southern United States originally 

 made their hives of sections of hollow trees, the sweet gum 

 being the tree preferred, and for this reason the hives were 

 called "bee gums," — a name that still lingers, although 

 the hollow tree is less frequently used than formerly. 



In the mountains of the Carolinas, however, veritable 

 "gums "may still be seen, and even manufactured hives 

 are called "gums." It is only fair to add that one may 

 iind the latest styles of hives, with " all the modern improve- 

 ments," including an Italian queen, in unexpected corners 

 of these mountains, where there is abundant bee-pasture 

 eight or nine months in the year, and where of course 

 there are innumerable " bee-trees " in the forests, the bees 

 still preferring a hollow tree of their own choosing to the 

 "gums" of the mountaineers. 



Muir tells us that the honey-bee is now found wild 

 throughout the Sierra, swarms having escaped from their 

 owners in the lowlands and taken possession of hollow trees 

 even higher than eight thousand feet above sea-level. 



