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Show The Bee Hunters of the k Southern Appalachians ( (Ti ERE SUR," reads a letter I H received by tho officer In JL0 charge of one of tho National Na-tional Forests in East Tennessee, "thcro Is a Bo Trc on the est side of Rok Crick what 1 want tho trc alnt no good. It is holier in the but and4 holler In tho top whoro the bees Is. I want to cut tho bo trc and git the hunny for my fambly. if I doant cut it sum other fellor will git ahod of me and git my hunny. pleso glv me a permit too cutt my be tre. p. s. it is a spike topp chos-nutt chos-nutt the bees Is in a scrubby runty chesnutt." Such communications are not uncommon, un-common, say the forest officers who aro familiar with conditions in the Southern Appalachians. Bee hunting is a favorlto pastime with tho natives. Many of them are adept at following, or "lining" bees and spend much of their lime In roaming tho woods look- J hunters watch a beo and stick a tiny .uft of white rabbit's hair on to Its body in order that it may bo clearly seen. Other bee hunters rely on following fol-lowing the bee's flight without this assistance. When the boo has drunk Its fill it rises Into the air, and after circling once or twice files off on a straight line for its hive. The hunter notes the course which tho beo takes and marks it with reference to high trees or other distinguishing landmarks. He then follows the course which the bee has taken and guides himself by tho objects he has noted. It may be necessary for tho bee huntor to catch a number of bees before tho exact location of tho tree Is found. After all his trouble ho may find at the last that the bees he has been following aro from the hive of some mountain farm, or that another an-other hunter has gotten ahend of him and marked the tree. When the beo-troc is found, In caeo tho finder does not wish to cut it at , A Mountaineer's Cabin In The Heart Of The Appalachians. ing for the trees In which tho wild bees make their hives. In doing this they make uso of the woll-known fact that a beo .always flics .homo in a direct di-rect or "beo lino." Tho usual procedure Is to find tho placo whero tho bees come to ftater. Sometimes the brush is cleared away in order to open up a spot whoro tho bees can be watohod. Occasionally a bait of honey or molasses is placed nearby to attract tho insects. Many tho timo, it Is marked by cutting a rough X into tho bark or with .somo other distinctive blaze. In tho mountain moun-tain custom, this is equivalent to "staking out a claim." and serves as notice to any person who may find tho troo later that it Is claimed by tho first discoverer. This practico is well known all through tho mountain region and is seldom violated. Somo of tho bee-tree hunters havo marks which aro widely known and re spected. ! ' The bee-trees aro usually cut In the spring or summer when tho boss as s . well as tho honey can bo saved. If ; robbed in tho fall or winter the bocs I die of starvation. Tho mountaineer , makes a "smudgo" of damp bark and . wood which gives out a denso smoke. This is placed so that tho smoko 1 reaches the bees In the tree and tern- I porarily stupefies them. Tho treo Is I1 then cut and tho honey is gathered -into tho various buckets, lard palls and gourds which have been brought along for the purpose. The bees are scraped off into a covered receptacle : ; to of some sort beforo they recover from Uj tho effeots of tho smoke. After the i ; ? mountaineer's cabin Is reached, they ; W are placed in an empty "bee-gum," or , hive. This is usually of tho crudest l sort, and moro often than not con- ; K slsls of a hollow log in which small sticks aijo Inserted to support tho honey comb. The bees soon recover : ( from their stupor and at onco accus- ( .. torn themselves to their now homo : UJ and start work again as though noth- ; t& Ing had happened. j ' To most people, honey is honey, but : ; m tho mountaineer is something of a . w connoisseur In this respect and has decided tastes In tho matter. Honoy ' from sourwood and basswood Is high- f ly prized. That from chestnut 1? . stronger and not so good. Tho . or the honey, tho bettcn but whllo tho old black honey from tho trees x long used by bees may not be as ) eagerly sought after as tho othor kind, , 5 It Is not wasted. In the past It has been tho custom ; ; ft for tho man who found a bee-trco . yj. to cut It and glvo tho owner of the ; JCar trco ono-half, or in some localities, i KjC one-fourth of the honey. On tho lands 3 re which tho Government has purchased, u tho mountaineers arc allowed to cut - a 5?? tho trees under a frec-uso permit. gici This involves no cxpenso beyond tho a ay timo and labor Involved in clearing tv wi up tho brush resulting from cutting tho tree. The trees are seldom of any H a valuo on account of tho hollows and othor defects which they contain and it is not often that they would over be m used for anything. To tho mountaineer, however, th o honey is of no llltlo Importance. IB many cases it may bo tho only , a "swoet'nlng" a family will have, ana 1 In common with sorghum molasses known as "long swcot'nlng," to dis- t . tlngulsh It from sugar, or "shori u swcot'nlng." Very often tho honey w ! exchangod at tho nearest "storo for : flour, coffeo, salt and matches, or oUv . 1 or necessities which tho mountam .hfl farms do not furnish. I 15 f J |