Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-10-14

lhuUIo.
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 a settlement in the up
per part of one of the walls of the house.
| suggested the removal of a portion Of
the inner wall, and predicted large
"hnd. " After some time, this advice
was acted on; but the farmer adopted
q 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 take
of honey from the walls of the Hautboy
and Fiddle Inn, Ockham, Surrey The
outer walls of the house are about
three feet in thickness, and at the very
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 theft whereabouts.
After diligent search under the roof,
piece of comb was found. Descend
ing to one of the upper bedrooms,
chisel and hammer went to work, and
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 ''take" 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.
In some countries the honey-bee still
roams at will and uncontrolled, this il
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
"The beautiful forests in which VIZ
were encamped abounded In bee.trees
that is to say, trees in the decayec
trunks of which wild-bees had estab
lished their hives, 1t is surprising il
what countless swarms the bees hav,
overspread the far West within but ,
moderate number of years. The In
dams consider them the harbinger O
the white man, as the buffalo is of th,
red man, and say that in proportion a
the bee advances, the Indian and thu
buffalo retire. We are always accustomed
to associate the hum of the bee-hiv
with the farmhouse and the flower
garden, and to consider those indus
trious little animals as connected witt
the busy haunts of men; and | am tol,
that the wild bee is seldom to be me
with at any great distance from tn
frontier, They have been the heralds o
civilization, steadily preceding it, as j
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 relis
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
and forests that skirt and intersect til
prairies and extend along the alluvi;
bottoms of the rivers. 1t seems to m
as if these beautiful regions answer lii
orally to the description of the land {
promise, "a land flowing with milk an
honcy'; for the rich pasturage of tn
prairies is calculated to sustain herd
of cattle as countless as the sands upo
the seashore, while the flowers wit
which they are enameled render ther
a very paradise for the nectar-seekin
bee"
A bee-hunt must be a very excitin
adventure, and, as most people woul
think, attended with considerable risl
| but the ingenuity of the settlers, an
t especially of the bee-hunters, VIII
g make living of the business, is equ;
Q to the occasion. Let us, for the SAX
: of greater brevity, suppose cast
S which Is, however, little other than
, narrative of simple facts. A party SCI
/, out in quest of bee-tree-a tree in tn
f cavity of which colony of bees hay
t established themselves. The party
4 headed by a veteran bee-hunter, tai
$ lank fellow, with his homespun Dire,
= hanging loosely about him, and h;
y which might be taken for beeskel
: A man similarly attired attends hin
e with long rifle on his shoulder. III
: rest of the party, six in number, al
i armed with axes and rifles. Thus a,
a coutered, they are ready for any spor
n or even more serious business. Reacl
e ing an open glade on the skirts of Il
o forest, the party halts, and the lead,
k advances to a low bush, on which
: places piece of honeycomD. This
4 lure for he bees. In very sho
+ time several are humming about it ar
e diving into the cells. Laden wit
e honey, they rise into the air and da
: off in a straight line with almost I'll
= velocity of bullet. The hunters watt
e attentively the course they take al
o set off in the same direction, still waite
e ing the course of the bees. In this W,
If the tree which the bees have ma,
k their home is reached. But it will oft,
e happen, as may be suspected, that Il
e bees will elude the sight of the mo
e vigilant hunter, and the party m,
k wander about without succeeding
l. finding any treasure. Another meth,
,t is then adopted; few bees are caug
n and placed in small box with q gla
5, top, having at the bottom small pie
l. of honeycomb. When they have sat
v fed themselves with honey. two or thr