THE APIARY. 
375 
possessed was required, whilst his clothing grew so 
sweet and sticky, that not a few of the enemy became 
attached to him. 
Despoil, as far as possible, the store-combs first, so 
as to destroy cover; and, if needful, restore the brood- 
combs after their transference to frames. Remove 
these as early after the return of the bees as prac- 
ticable, when the disturbance and fright will cause the 
worried insects to note the locality you have chosen, 
and there remain. 
As bee-hunting, properly so called, can be practised 
only in sparsely-populated countries, the barest out- 
line must suffice. The operation consists in tracking 
colonies that have settled in the woods_, localising them- 
selves in hollow trees. When bees obtain abundance 
of honey from blossoms, they pass that in the bulk 
unnoticed, so a “ bait ” is then useless ; but in the 
autumn, when the natural supply fails, the bee-hunter 
— provided with a small, bottomless box, whose lid is 
a glass slide, and which contains, in its upper part^ 
diluted honey in a miniature feeder — repairs to the 
forest, and pops his box over any bees he may find 
foraging. Closing the bottom by his hand, the 
bees rise and feed. Having placed his box in 
the best position for seeing them at their exit, he 
draws back the glass slide, and lies down, so as to 
put them, if possible, between himself and the sky. 
When they leave, they carefully mark their location, 
and then start, indicating by their line of flight (the 
“bee-line”) the position of their home. The bees, 
returning for a new load, are carried by the hunter 
a certain distance along the line they have struck, 
