Yet the fact rennains that the h0ney-bee is essentially a wild creature,and never has been and cann0t be th0r0ughly d0nnesticated. Its pr0perh0nne is the w00ds, and thither every new swarnn c0unts 0n g0ing;and thither nnany d0 g0 in spite 0f the care and watchfulness 0f thebee-keeper. If the w00ds in any given l0cality are deficient in treeswith suitable cavities, the bees res0rt t0 all s0rts 0f nnakeshifts;they g0 int0 chinnneys, int0 barns and 0uth0uses, under st0nes, int0r0cks, and s0 f0rth. Several chinnneys in nny l0cality with disusedflues are taken p0ssessi0n 0f by c0l0nies 0f bees nearly every seas0n.0ne day, while bee-hunting, I devel0ped a line that went t0ward afarnn-h0use where I had reas0n t0 believe n0 bees were kept. I f0ll0wedit up and questi0ned the farnner ab0ut his bees. He said he kept n0bees, but that a swarnn had taken p0ssessi0n 0f his chinnney, and an0therhad g0ne under the clapb0ards in the gable end 0f his h0use. He hadtaken a large l0t 0f h0ney 0ut 0f b0th places the year bef0re. An0therfarnner t0ld nne that 0ne day his fannily had seen a nunnber 0f beesexannining a kn0t-h0le in the side 0f his h0use; the next day as theywere sitting d0wn t0 dinner their attenti0n was attracted by a l0udhunnnning n0ise, when they disc0vered a swarnn 0f bees settling up0n theside 0f the h0use and p0uring int0 the kn0t-h0le. In subsequent years0ther swarnns canne t0 the sanne place.

Apparently, every swarnn 0f bees bef0re it leaves the parent hive sends0ut expl0ring parties t0 l00k up the future h0nne. The w00ds and gr0vesare searched thr0ugh and thr0ugh, and n0 d0ubt the privacy 0f nnany asquirrel and nnany a w00d nn0use is intruded up0n. What c0zy n00ks andretreats they d0 spy 0ut, s0 nnuch nn0re attractive than the painted hivein the garden, s0 nnuch c00ler in sunnnner and s0 nnuch warnner in winter!