Fall Hunting
The main sources of the honey supply are now over, and if the
methods given in the preceding chapters are followed it is
necessary for us to get out on the mountains or fields far distant
from home apiaries and look for the few flowers that have escaped
killing frosts. A few bunches of mountain goldenrod are found here
and there scattered over the mountain-side. A white flower, growing
on a stem about two feet in heigh
, is also found in many
locations. I am unable to give the botanical name of this latter
flower, but every bee hunter who has had much experience has seen
many bees on it when other flowers have ceased to exist or have
been rendered useless by frosts, as a source of honey.
If but a few of these flowers are found growing together and a few
bees are seen on them, sprinkle freely with bait before described,
and in a short time you will find ten bees to where there was one
at first. Now if you start them from goldenrod, scent of almost
anything used in bee hunting will serve to draw them on the course;
but essence of goldenrod is far superior at this season of the
year. As I have before stated, a scent should be used to conform as
nearly as possible to the scent of the flower the bee is working on
at any particular time. It would be a superfluity to explain any
farther, as the same tactics must be followed as described earlier
in this work.