Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

356 CAMPING AND WOOr^CRAFTThen come the columbine and dicentra (Dutchman'sbreeches), from which the honey bee gatherspollen only, for its tongue .is too short to reach thenectar as the bumblebee's does.Baiting.—If such scouting trips fail, the hunterwill resort to lures. A backwoodsman who hasneither honey, nor sirup, nor sugar, with which toprepare bee-bait, will steep corn-cobs for a coupleof days in what, by way of euphemism, he calls '"sourbait,"or in strong brine scented with anise or bergamot.These he places on stumps in his fields,where the bees are pretty sure to take them fortreasure-trove. A surer way to attract them is byroasting honyecomb or beeswax. For this purposea piece of tin or a flat stone is heated in the fire,and the comb or wax, moistened with water, isplaced on it. The chief objection to this method isthat it is bothersome to carry the hot rock or tinfrom place to place.Bees are fond of certain essential oils,such as oilof anise and oil of bergamot, which, either singlyor in combination, may be used as a lure by addinga few drops to a vial of sugar-water. This may bedone at any season. Some bee men prefer to takeflowers of the particular plant or tree that the beesare favoring at a given time, pack them well down ina wide-mouthed jar, add just enough diluted alcohol(25%) to cover, and let stand a few days. In thisway you can make your own essences of buckwheat,goldenrod, clover, etc., with which to dopeyour sugar-water. The latter is a thin sirup madeby dissolving granulated sugar in three times itsbulk of water, or clear honey thinned with an equalbulk of warm water, or a mixture of sugar andhoney in water. A 4-ounce vial of it is plenty.The reason why ordinary thick honey will notdo so well as the diluted mixture Is this: You willwish to judge, from the time of the bees' flight,how far away the bee-tree Is. Their time of absencewhen carrying nectar is pretty accurately