THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

 

117

 

The Bee-Tree.

 

FROM A VOLUME OF

TALES BY PROF, ALDEN.

 

ATHER, where do bee-
trees come from?”
said Benjamin Adams,
as he came home from
an expedition after
strawberries, and sat

down in the doorway, near his

father.

“Your question,” said Mr,
Adams, “is rather a singular
one. The trees grow in the usual man-
ner, and in time decay, and become hol-
low, and then the bees take possession
of them.”

“What makes the bees take posses-
sion of them ?”

“Tt is natural for them to swarm,
after they have become numerous; and
‘as they are not able to make hives for
themselves, if none are provided for
them, they do the next best thing they
can, namely, select a hollow tree. They
sometimes go into holes in the rocks.”

“Do you suppose that they look
around, and find a hollow tree to go to
before they swarm ?”

“TI don’t know. Sometimes they go
to a tree so directly, that it would seem
as if they knew beforehand where they
were going.”

“ Father, do you think there is a bee-
tree on our land ?”

‘“T don’t know of any.”

“ Don’t you think there is one?”

“ No.”

“Don’t you think there may be one?”

“No; there are few trees on -my

   
 

“T rather think there is one on our
land, somewhere.”

“What reason have you to think
so ?” |

“I don’t know, sir; there was one on
Mr. Darby’s land last year.”

“So you think it is our turn this year.
No, my boy, there is no bee-tree on our
land, depend upon it.” i"

Benjamin whispered to himself, “I
know there is.’” His manner, during the
latterspart of the conversation, had been
so peculiar, as to attract the attention of
his father, though he said nothing about
it. The reason of this peculiar manner
will appear from what is about to be re-
lated,

While Benjamin, in company with two
other boys, were gathering strawberries
in a remote pasture belonging to Mr.
Adams, they game to a large tree which
had been left ‘standing when the -field
was cleared. The top had long since
decayed, and fallen off; about twenty
feet of the trunk remained. One of the
boys happfned to look up, and saw
something going in and out at a knot-
hole.

“T’ve found a bee-tree!” he exclaim-
ed. The other two boys rushed to the
spot, and saw the bees flying out and in.

“ How shall we get the honey 2” said
one.

“T’ll climb up and get it,” said the
other boy that was with Benjamin. He
made the attempt; but the tree was so
large that he could not climb x... How

farm old enough to have hollows in | he was to get the honey, even if he had

them large enough for bees to live in.”

* fers

succeeded in climbing, does not. appeag.