NATURAL BISTORX. 



221 



partui'e. fhen they leave in the earlj 



morning and arc seen no more until the 

 next year. 



I knew of one of these conventions in 

 Southern Indiana. The place selected for 

 the purpose was the roof of the court 

 house. That proving too small to hold 

 the flock, the overflow covered several 

 roofs, eaves, chimneys and porches in the 

 neighborhood. For several evenings the 

 multitude increased, and made more noise 

 than a political convention. This lasted 

 about a week, when, with a great final 

 chattering, they rose at break of day and 

 were gone to their Southern homes. 



The martin is a fighter and drives off the 

 sparrow when both desire the same nest- 

 ing place; but I saw this year, for the first 

 time, martins and sparrows peacefully oc- 

 cupying different apartments in the same 

 bird house. The martin, like his cousin, 

 the kingbird, is said to prey on honey bees 

 when opportunity offers. I do not know 

 about martins, but I have watched king- 

 birds while they were bee hunting. Have 

 seen one light on a hive or quite near it, 

 while working bees came and went without 

 the least recognition on the part of either; 

 but let a drone, who has no sting, venture 

 out, and the bird would have him in short 

 order. 



I notice in a recent Recreation that one 

 of its nimrod correspondents has been 

 wasting powder on coween ducks. These 

 birds used to be extremely plentiful in the 

 winter, in the Niagara river, especially in 

 the lower part, and were then in their 

 fullest plumage. The French boys used to 

 shoot them for the feathers. Between 

 Queenstown and Lewiston, just below the 

 new bridge, the river widens considerably, 

 and eddy currents form on both shores, 

 where the water is shallow. Into these 

 eddies the flock, 40 or 50 sometimes, would 

 drop, and after long speeches made up of 

 sentences like "owee-owakeen, owee owa- 

 keen," one would up end and go down, 

 and all would follow suit. Then the bois 

 bride would paddle his canoe post haste to 

 the spot and wait for the rise. As the 

 birds came up there was a delay of y 2 sec- 

 ond or so before they could take wing, and 

 it was a rare thing if the bird aimed at 

 flew more than 20 feet before he fell. 



HUNTING WILD BEES. 



In a recent number of Recreation 

 some one asks how wild bees may be 

 traced. I have hunted bee trees for several 

 years and perhaps can give the desired in- 

 formation. 



The time to successfully bait bees is im- 

 mediately after the first frosts in the fall. 

 I take a box 4 inches square and 3 inches 

 deep and place in it 2 or 3 inches of empty 



honey comb. I hen ppttr into the cells 

 until they are half full a thin syrup made 

 of white sugar, to which a few drops of 

 oil of anise have been added. Bees fill up 

 much more quickly on the thin syrup than 

 they would on honey. 



Go early in the morning to some flower 

 patch where the bees have been feeding. 

 Capture the first bee that shows up and 

 put him in your box. He will at once 

 load himself with syrup. Place your box 

 on a high stump or fence and get below, 

 so you can see it against the sky. When 

 the bee is loaded he will come out and, after 

 several circles around the box, dart away — ■ 

 the devil only knows where. However, in 

 5 or 10 minutes he will return and bring 

 one or 2 friends. After a few trips the 

 bees will have become well acquainted with 

 the route and will make a straight line 

 for their tree. . It is then an easy matter to 

 follow them and locate your first line. 



By this time you will have plenty of 

 bees; close the box while a few are in it 

 and carry it % to l / 2 mile to one side. Let 

 the bees out and await their return. In a 

 short time you will have a second course 

 or line. Where the 2 lines cross is where 

 you will find the tree. Bees usually go 

 into a hollow green tree, but sometimes 

 are found in old stumps. In Colorado we 

 find them in the rocks. 



Bee hunters find field glasses useful in 

 examining tall trees. It is almost impos- 

 sible to course bees from flowers; neither 

 will they take bait while there are flowers 

 to feed on. 



Sam Stevens, Cripple Creek, Col. 



ANOTHER SINGING MOUSE. 



In November Recreation Mr. Harry 

 E. Loftie, of Syracuse, N. Y., says he 

 has a singing mouse, and asks if there are 

 any other singing mice in existence. Al- 

 though not mentioned by Buffon, no doubt 

 can be entertained that music is a faculty, 

 if not one of the accomplishments, of those 

 little rodents, rendering it highly probable 

 there are many sweet singers among them, 

 though their music may never come to the 

 attention of man. More than 60 years ago 

 I was extremely fond of dogs and of hunt- 

 ing the sly raccoon after night. In the 

 still darkness, while waiting in the forests 

 for a report or the return of the dogs, I 

 would occasionally hear a sweet, canary- 

 like music, coming from somewhere near. 

 The trill and twitter notes were at variance 

 with the song of any birds I knew. My 

 curiosity was awakened. In 1875 my house- 

 maid reported a mouse which came out 

 every day, sat on the window sill in the 

 kitchen, and sang an hour or more. She 

 was requested to give notice when the 

 musician came again. The next day she 



