Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

36oCAMPING AND WOODCRAFT—On an average, a bee flies a mile In five mlnutCrJ,and he spends about two minutes in the hive, disgorging.Bees vary In their flight, but a goodgeneral rule is to subtract two from the number ofminutes absent, and divide by ten; the quotient Isthe number of miles, or the fraction of a mile, fromyour stand to the bee-tree. The time of the bee'ssecond flight will be a more reliable datum thanthat of the first, because by that time he will haveestablished his bearings and will go straight to andfro.The pioneer bee will probably come back alonefrom his first trip. Let him fill up and depart asbefore; but now watch the course of his flight veryclosely, for it will be a "bee-line" for home. Hiscourse w^ill be slightly sinuous, but Its general directionwill be straight for the hive, unless the groundis so rough as to cause contrary air currents. Inwhich case he will seek the lee of woods or theshelter of a ravine, or unless there Is a lake or largepond In the way, which he probably will swayaround—for some reason known only to themselves,bees dislike to pass over a body of waterso a bee-line Is not necessarily a straight line. Pickout some tall or peculiarly topped tree, or otherprominent object in line with his course, take Itsbearings by compass, and study It carefully, so that50U may recognize this landmark thereafter.After two or three trips, your first bee probablywill bring some companions with him from the homehive. Capture several more bees, say half a dozen,mark them, and let them go as before. If theyall go In the same direction they belong to the samehive. But you may get two or more lines workingfrom the same bait, in which case select the morenumerous one, as it is likely to be nearest.Cross-lining.—^When once you get a line ofbees working back and forth It is time to bestiryourself. Now you can choose between two schoolsof bee hunters: those who cross-line from the start,and those who claim that this is a waste of time