The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-10-06

bnc llies just over Ouc VI VIC CudiliDcI
windows. They held possession for sew
eral years. and still held their own
when l left the cottage. As they never
swarmed, it is almost certain there
must have been a large collection Of
honey, but for some reason or other.
chiefly, no doubt, on account of the
difficulty of taking the honey without
injuring the house and exposing the
whole family to the attacks of the bees,
proiited in no way by their busy
labors.
Less than ten years ago when max
ing call at the old farmhouse, PEN
rhos, Lyonshall, Herefordshire. my at
tention was directed to colony ofbees
which had made settlement in the up
per part of one of the walls of the house.
! suggested the removal of portion of
the inner wall, and predicted large
"tind." After some time, this advice
was acted on; but the farmer adopted
plan which / should have strongly
deprecated-the plan of destroying
with birthstone the entire bee commu-
nifty. The store of honey was SO great
that every available keller and pan in
the house was filled to the extent of
nearly two hundred weight
Two other instances may be cited, as
reported in the West Surrey Times.
One is that of an extraordinary stake"
of honey from the walls of the Hautboy
and Fiddle Inn, Ockham, Surrey. The
outer walls of the house are about
| thrao foot IN tb;oEpocS opJ al tho warp
top of the third story colony of bees
had established themselves, holding
undisturbed possession for number Of
years. At length the inn-keeper de-
termined to find out their whereabouts.
After diligent search under the roof,
a piece of comb was found. Descend
ing to one of the upper bedrooms,
chisel and hammer went to work, and
a square of about two feet was opened
in the front wall; here large mass of
comb was discovered; and after fumi-
eating the bees, about one hundred
and twenty pounds of honey were Sc
cured. Another and still more ex-
traordinary stake" of honey was
secured at Winters Hall, Bran
ley, Surrey, the seat of Mr..
George Barrett. Some bees had long
held possession of space between the
ceiling of the coach-house and the
granary; on effecting an entrance,
about three hundred weight Of honey
was secured. 1
In some countries the hOney-bee still
roams at will and uncontrolled; this is
notably the case in the western parts
of the United States and Canada. The
discovery of their natural hives for the
purpose of securing the honey is the
calling of class Of persons known as
bee-hunters. A writer of considerable
repute thus speaks on this subject
1.-THE beautiful forests in which we
were encamped abounded in bee.trees
that is to say, trees in the decayed
trunks of which wild-bees had estab.
lished their hives. 1t is surprising in
what countless swarms the bees have
overspread the far West within but q
moderate lumber of years. The In
dams consider them the harbinger Of
the white man, as the buffalo is of the
red man, and say that in proportion as
the bee advances, the Indian and the
buffalo retire. We are always accustomed
to associate the hum of the beehive
with the farmhouse and the flower
garden, and to consider those indus
trious little animals as connected with
the busy haunts of men; and am tOlC
that the wild bee is seldom to be me
with at any great distance from thu
frontier They have been the heralds o
civilization. steadily preceding it, as i
advanced from the Atlantic borders
and some of the ancient (early) set
/ tiers of the West pretend to give tn,
very year when the honey-bee frs
, crossed the Mississippi. The Indians
with surprise, found the molderin,
: trees of their forests suddenly teemin!
with ambrosial sweets; and nothing,
am told, can exceed the great relisl
with which they banquet for the frs
= time upon the unbought luxury of tn
> wilderness. At present the honey.be
,, swarms in myriads in the noble grove
l and forests that skirt and intersect tn
t prairies and extend along the alluvia
e bottoms of the rivers. It seems to m
Q as if these beautiful regions answer lii
: orally to the description of the land Q
S promise, a land flowing with milk an
, honey; for the rich pasturage of tn
d, prairies is calculated to sustain herd
+ of cattle as countless as the sands upo
t the seashore, while the flowers wit
4 which they are enameled render Their
3 a very paradise for the nectar-seekin
y bee." -...,. ..,
A bee-hunt must be very excitin
: adventure, and. as most people woul
9 think, attended with considerable risl
: but the ingenuity of the settlers, an
u especially of the bee-hunters, VIII
a make living of the business, is equ,
n to the occasion. Let us. for the SAX
e of greater brevity, suppose cast
o which is, however, little other than
k narrative of simple facts. A party Sc,
+ out in quest of bee-tree-a tree in tt
d cavity of which colony of bees hav
+ established themselves. The party
e headed by a veteran bee hunter, a tai
9 lank fellow, with his homespun dres
: hanging loosely about him, and h,
: which might be taken for a beeske,
e A man similarly attired attends hin
o with long rifle on his shoulder III
e rest of the party, six in number, al
II armed with axes and rifles. Thus a,
X coutered. they are ready for any spor
Q or even more serious business. Reacl
g ing an open glade on the skirts of Ii
e forest, the party halts, and the lead,
K advances to low bush. on which |
l. places piece of honeycomD. This
1t a lure for he bees. In very sho
n time several are humming about it an
;, diving into the cells. Laden wit