Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1888-08-15

an wen bee gifts his bearin's an
starts fer home he don't turn nuther to
tn right nor to tn left, not if he meets
a bulljine an q train O. cars. Wen
we git that, il tn hatn't no sign O tn
bee tree bein' nigh we'll line 'em again.
II it's nigh, we'll know it by hearin'
an seein, the workers goin' by us,
comm an goin' tol'able thick. Then
Well know th't the tree they'm film
fer we hain't fur away"
1t was no easy matter to reach the
landmark pointed out by the hunter.
for the brush was thick, and the way
was stony and miry by turns. The
veteran kept up constant run of talk,
and among the things I heard and kept
from being jolted out OF me was:
Eye mowt q noticed that We never
see honey bee workin' on red
clover; an now th't We think O. it,
mebby it'll strike ye ez bein' ruther
funny, fer tn hain't nothin' th't grows
th't holds more honey, an the best
kind at that, tim tho red clover.
Well, now th't yev thort it funny
th't honey bees don't git the honey
outen red clover, O. course, yev asst
yerself. Well! why don't theyp All!
there We be! Ye can't answer yer
self, kin yer. Course not. Then
I'll tell yer. The honey bee don't work
the red clover for the simple reason
th't he don't know how. That's a fact.
Smart ez honey bees is, an there hain't
nothin' in the insec' line th't comes ez
nigh ez they do to bein' smarter thin
human bein's, less it's ants-they've
sucked an sucked an sucked all
round the red clover ever since bees
an red clover was born, an they hahn
learnt yit tn one little trick that opens
all them sweets to 'em th't red clover
holds way down in it's bosom. Yet
the humble bee knows how to git
it, an he gifts it, an if there was
only enough o. wat he makes durin'
tn season, he'd soon knock tn
honey bee higher'n kite, fer red
clover honey have to be the best
tn market affords. An it's simple
trick too, th't lets the humble bee in.
ter tn monopoly o red clover. Them
leetle boiler tubes th'tmakes the clover
head, an at the bottom o. witch tn
honey is stored, is too deep for either
tn honey bee or tn humble bee to sink
his sucker down inter, SOS they kin
ketch the sweet. I don't know wat
ever put it inter tn humble bees head
or wen it was done,. but some tirse or
other arter tryin' ter git his nose in the
honey, he knowed was way down in
th't red clover, an not hittin' on way,
he has jest set down an conferred his
brain ever it. BY an by tn idee hit him,
an it mus O. nigh knocked him often
the stump he was settin' on. I kin
almos' see th't OIL humber a jumpin' up
an down an jist hollerin' for JOY wen
tn idee hit him. An wat dye think
it was? just to tap the clover tubes at
the bottom, an, there the honey lay
with nothin' to do but be sucked out.
An from th't day to this the humble
bee has been borin' leetle hole in the
bottom of them nectar cells an robbin'
them O. all they'm with, an the honey
bee hain't never tumbled to tn trick.
An here we be at the big pine. Sump-
in O. a tug, want it?''
RUN TO EARTH
It had been tug and no mistake,
but we'll worth the time and toll. The
bee hunter stopped, and telling me be
quiet, stood in a listening attitude for a
minute or more. Presently bee
buzzed by us like a shot, in the direc-
ton we had come, and some time after
another one went by.
1--WE hain't nigh the tree w.t." said
the bee hunter, IAN we'll line 'em
agin."
He took small tin box from his
pocket. In the box was a piece OF
comb honey. This the woodman placed
on a stone on the ground and lighting
a match, held the blaze at one corner
of the honey. A sweet smelling smoke
came from the burning stuff and rose
slowly in the air. The honey ceased
burning when the match was burned
out.
"'Therer' said the hunter, 9TH bees
wont be long gettin' sniff O. th't, We
kin bet. anil come here to load up.
Then we'll foller on their heels agin an
I guess tree them.''
Sure enough! It was not long before
first one bee, then another, and then
another settled down on the honey.
When one had taken it's load it rose
upward and away it went homeward in
a course as straight as an arrow.
"We've got 'em now!'' exclaimed the
delighted hunter, and he was off. He
crashed through the brush and over
the stones and through the mire, re-
gardless Of every thing I stumbled
along after him, and when, after an
hour of such travelling, was about to
give up, the bee hunter suddenly
stopped.
''Sh-h-h-h," said he, holding up his
finger and turning his ear in the direc-
ton he had been going. Soon heard
bees buzzing by us, to and fro in almost
constant nasSaDo