March, 1919 
* 
FOREST AND STREAM 
125 
frozen. Do not rub with snow, is so 
■often suggested. The tender skin may 
be broken and a bad sore result. Rub 
gently with the bare hand or apply soft 
snow very gently with a light patting 
motion. Keep away from heat and avoid 
sitting close to the fire when in camp. 
Second only to frost bite is the danger of 
eye-strain, or “snowblindness,” caused by 
the glare of the sun on the dazzling snow. 
It is very uncomfortable and is sometimes 
the cause of lasting trouble. Pale amber 
glasses cut out the irritating rays and 
interfere with vision much less than do 
the old-fashioned smoked glasses former- 
ly in use. 
N. L. Goodrich, New Hampshire. 
HOW I CAUGHT A SWARM OF BEES 
O NE warm summer evening I saw a 
swarm of bees buzz through the air. 
As I watched it carefully, it seemed to 
have alighted at a point not very far 
from where I stood. Immediately I went 
in search ; and was delighted to find that 
the swarm had settled on a branch of 
an apricot tree, about ten feet above 
the ground. It appeared in shape and 
size exactly like an ovoid punching bag. 
The bees were apparently asleep, for 
hardly one was seen flying, and the 
majority were not even stirring. 
Although I knew very little about the 
bee-hive psychology, I pondered on the 
ways and means to capture this. Finally 
I decided to try an impromptu formula. 
Having returned home, I equipped my- 
self with sting-proof armour like a 
knight of old on the eve of battle: First. 
I tied the bottoms of my trousers with 
strings, a la mandarin, to prevent any 
flank attack from this quarter; next I 
put on a heavy overcoat and two pairs 
of gloves; and, lastly, I helmeted the 
top-piece with a broad rimmed sombrero, 
shrouding it with a mosquito net, the 
ends of which I tucked away between 
the lapels of the overcoat. Thus attired 
I felt myself in\mlnerable. In the way 
of weapons, I took a smudge pot, a prun- 
ing saw, a ladder, a rope about twenty 
feet long, a box about 2x3x1 feet open 
on one of the broad sides, and another 
box about 2x1x1 feet with a one-inch 
hole in one corner. I also took a friend 
to assist me. 
Having reached the war zone, I first 
carefully adjusted the ladder opposite 
the bees, and tied one end of the rope 
to the branch on which the swarm hung, 
and swung the rest of the rope over 
another branch just above so that, when 
the bee branch was cut, it would swing 
from this high branch, thus minimizing 
the disturbance, and I let my friend hold 
the other end of the rope. This ar- 
rangement being finished, I began to 
saw. Some of the bees seemed angry 
at being disturbed and attacked me; 
but being well-protected, I soon finished 
the job. The whole swarm now swung 
loose on the rope, which my friend slow- 
ly lowered to the ground. I took the 
larger box and quickly had them cov- 
ered. It was all buzzing and turmoil in- 
side, as they crashed into each other in 
the darkness. Next I set the smaller box 
close by, and made a kind of hall-way 
from the large box to the one inch hole 
in the small one. Then lighting the 
smudge pot, I pumped smoke into the 
large box from the other side. Soon the 
bees, seeing the escapeway from the 
smoke by way of the hallway, began to 
migrate into the small box. 
It was a long job to transfer the whole 
swarm, as the bees slowly moved across 
in double and triple files, like sheep going 
into a cattle car. But the job was done; 
the swarm was a captive in a neat little 
box. , 
T. Takai, Seattle, Wash. 
WHICH IS YOUR GOOD EYE? 
A lmost all persons^, with few excep- 
tions, have at least one eye which 
doesn’t see straight. A good many rifle 
shots wonder why they invariably shoot 
either to one side or the other, when they 
know they have been aiming directly at 
an object. This is because they use but 
one eye. For instance, if they use their 
right eye to aim with, they shut their left 
and vice versa. If they have been shoot- 
ing off the mark, it is quite evident in 
nine cases out of ten that the eye they 
were using is their poor eye. Trap 
shooters have discovered that if they use 
both eyes at once this tendency to shoot 
off the mark is lessened as the- focus is 
apparently corrected. 
A method of testing to find which eye 
is the good eye is to stand facing an ob- 
ject, say a bird, tree or similar object 
if out doors, a light, picture, etc., if in 
doors, and pointing/ steadily at it with 
one finger, the arm being outstretched 
and both eyes open, alternately close 
each eye. It will be found that, when 
aiming with the good eye, the finger will 
be dead on the mark, whereas, if it 
should be the poor eye, the finger will 
be pointing several inches to one side. 
Frank M. Harth, New York. 
TRAP FOR MOLES 
A CORRESPONDENT recently in- 
quired the best method of trapping 
moles. This little animal is seldom 
trapped in this country, but in France 
there are still trappers who make a 
specialty of their capture for the sake 
of the skins. 
The best mole trap is the old-fash- 
ioned one still used by professional mole 
catchers. A hazel wand is stuck in the 
ground and bent over to form a spring 
for the trap, which is made thus: The 
lid is a small piece 6f ash (6x3x14 in.) 
with a hole in each comer, in which 
are inserted the ends of two pieces of 
split hazel, bent so as to form an arch 
at each end of the trap just wide enough 
for a mole to pass through when it is 
set in the run. A piece of thin brass 
wire is then inserted in such a way as 
to form a noose at each end, pressed 
close against the wooden arches and con- 
nected with a bit of whipcord, one end of 
which is attached to the hazel wand, 
and the other brought down through a 
hole in the lid for attachment to the 
brass wire. This hole .must be large 
enough to allow the knot at the end 
of the cord to pass through it, and it 
is then held in its place by a very small 
piece of wood, called the trigger, shaped 
like an inverted A. This plugs the hole 
and prevents the knot from slipping 
through until the mole pushes against it 
on passing through the trap. As soon 
as the trigger is displaced the upward 
spring of the hazel wand pulls up the 
wire noose, which holds the mole firmly 
against the under side of the lid and 
kills it. A little study and experiment 
will probably enable the reader to eon- 
struct a trap along these lines. 
J. C. T., Boston. 
