ctive
forest fire would result. Therefore it shall be my aim to eliminate
anything of an injurious or objectionable nature in the work I lay
before the reader.

On a calm morning in the early part of November, I went to the top
of the mountain west of my home. The day was an ideal one. The
trees had shed their leaves, making a thick carpet over the earth.
It seemed that all nature was getting ready for a long winter
sleep. All flowers except a few bunches of mountain goldenrod were
dead. The bees seemed to be aware that their labors were about
ended and were eagerly looking for anything in shape of sweets that
would add to their store of supplies and thus help to tide over the
long winter. After arriving at the top of the mountain I built a
fire, heated a large flat stone and took some bee comb and
proceeded to follow the example before mentioned. After watching
quite a long time and not seeing any bees I was on the point of
giving it up, at this place at least, when that sound so delightful
to the ear of the bee hunter, the silvery tone of the bee in
flight, came to my ear. Several times the sound was repeated but so
far I had not got a sight of it. On looking over the top of the
bushes I saw two bees flying slowly, sometimes coming near the
bait, then darting away, then returning and finally settling down
on the bait. All was anxiety! I must be sure to see these two bees
take their homeward flight. In a very short time one of them slowly
raised from the bait, circled a time or two, and then darted away
so quickly that I knew not where. Now the other one won't escape me
so easily. But when I turned to look, she, too, was gone. In a
short time they were back and lots of others close behind. In a
half hour there must have been a quart of bees on the bait. By this
time I had seen a number of bees fly due west and some due east. So
taking another hot stone and going some distance on the course
west, I put the stone down, burnt more comb, and in a few minutes
had lots of bees. They still continued westward. The next time I
stopped where a swamp extended from the top of the mountain back
some two hundred yards. There were many large gum trees growing in
this swamp. After a while I was convinced that the bees flew at
right angles from the former course. Leaving the bait I went into
the swamp and found them going into a large gum tree about twenty
feet from the ground. My spirits were high, this being the first
bee I had ev