Page:The New Forest - its history and its scenery.djvu/203

Rh the honeycombs, or, as they are more commonly called, "workings," the following rhyme exists:—

The entrance for the bees into the hive is here, as in Cambridgeshire and some other counties, named the "tee-hole," evidently an onomatopoieia, from the buzzing or "teeing" noise, as it is locally called, which the bees make. The piece of wood placed under the "bee-pots," to give the bees more room, is known as "the rear," still also, I believe, in use in America. The old superstition, I may notice, is here more or less believed, that the bees must be told if any death happens in a family, or they will desert their hives. It is held, too, rather, perhaps, as a tradition than a law, that if a swarm of bees flies away the owner cannot claim them, unless, at the time, he has made a noise with a kettle or tongs to give his neighbours notice. It is on such occasions that the phrase "Low brown" may be heard, meaning that the bees, or the "brownies," as they are called, are to settle low.

So also of the cattle, which are turned out in the Forest, we find some curious expressions. A "shadow cow" is here what would in other places be called "sheeted," or "saddle-backed," that is, a cow whose body is a different colour to its hind and fore parts. A "huff" of cattle means a drove or herd, whilst the 185