January i, t886.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



509 



of the rock. The top was nearly level, and about 

 ten feet s<jiiare. A cavity euclosed on all sides but 

 one, and partially rooted ovtr, cout;iiued a large 

 stock of A. Jcrsata, which of course I had not 

 been able to see from below. The bees drove us 

 down iu the daytime, but at night witli the ail of 

 a torch and smoke I cut out the combs and iittod 

 them into frames which were placed into a hive 

 hauled up over the sije of the ruck. I had learned 

 that the best time to approach these bees in their 

 forc-ft lodgment is at ui^lit, as they do not fly 

 much then. The fr.ames of my hives were about 

 12 in. deep by IS in. long, and so the combs were 

 cut accordingly. I think larger frames would have 

 been better, but not so easy to transport. As the 

 A. <io/-A-(i(rt comb is one and three eighths inches 

 thick, the bars of my frames had been made of 

 that width. There were some fifty to sixty pounds 

 of honey in the combs of this stock, and after I 

 had given the bees a fair supply, the natives had a 

 nice feast, and some was left over; besides, they 

 eagerly devoured the bits of brood which did not 

 find place in tlie hive. 



As this was towards the close of the season when 

 the bees fiud little honey, just before the swarming 

 sea.son, it is fair to presume that the amount of 

 honey would be much greater at most any other 

 time, and the huge combs would have made a nice 

 lump of wax. We secured but one other stock of the 

 dozen that were on the overhanging ledge of rock ; 

 the risk to limb and lite being too great to try for 

 any more there, so we moved on to other localities. 

 Once iu moveable-comb hives, I did not find .4. 

 dorsatu intractable, but there are other reasons why its 

 culture mat/ never prove successful, altliough it is an 

 experiment worth trying. 



The little A. Imlica builds its parellel comhs (five- 

 eighths of an inch thick: thirty-sbc cells on each side 

 of a square inch) in hollow trees, rock cavities, etc., 

 aud is cultivated to a certain extent in earthen pots, 

 wooden skeps, etc., yet I do not believe with much 

 profit. The queens are polific, and the workers in- 

 dustrious, but it is what the Geiinans would surely 

 call a xwarm-bec. And if kept in moveable-frame 

 hives, the great diflicidty, as .Mr. Douglas well remarks, 

 would be the absconding of the bees at nearly every 

 manipulation, notwithst.-inding the presence of brood 

 and honey. I have lively recollections of getting the 

 bees of a recently transferred stock whose combs I 

 was fi.xing a little, back into their hive six times in 

 succession one morning, performing in these processes 

 a good many gymnastics on the roofs and trees in 

 the vicinity of ray apiary. ]5efore I learned of this 

 peculiarity of Apis Indici I formed (juite a favour- 

 able opinion of it, though, from all that I saw, I 

 should think 24 lb. reported as its yield in the Wy- 

 naad rather hij<h, thou^-h, of course, I judge merely 

 by the amounts I saw in the combs of the stock I 

 captnred. As the cause for absconding seems to lie 

 in the very (Xcitable nature of these bees, I would 

 recommend the use of smoke only when absolutely 

 necessary. They can generally be driven from combs 

 by blowing them strongly, and become less excited than 

 wnen smoked. They ci'n be brusheil or shaken from the 

 combs easily. As the worker brood-combs are but 

 five-eighths of an inch thick, tlie bars of frame-hives 

 intended for these bees should be but five-eighths 

 wide instead of «even-eights to one inch, as for 

 Api^ nifVipca, and the spacing but one-quarter in. to 

 threH-eiphths at the most. 



In Ceylun I found two partief who had got out 

 hivtrs from England, which of course were adapted 

 to Apis melUjica and htd frani ,s whose birs w.rc 

 seven-eighths to one incL widr , and spaced so a . to 

 remain three-eigh'bs t,c biilf-i.ici. a,,arf. Ol e uis. , 

 these p.-irt.ies could not und .i.-'tai,u why theiv I'Ces 

 would not do toe way the books said other peopl 's 

 bess wrc accustom. I fc do. r.;':>' ■<, build the comNs 

 regularly ind put one -n a frami . never Of. "e dream- 

 ing that, not only were they not of the san'! race, but, 

 even more, they belonged to quitj distinct species. 



^V^aateve^ may be the result of any attempt to 

 eukivate the honey-producing bees native to East 

 India, I still feci sure that, in the hands of a bee- 

 master of suificLiu exp.Tieiice and knowledge of 

 principles to enable hbu tj adapt himself, or rather 

 his mauagemeut, to circumstances, any of the races 

 of the species Apis meUiJicn cm be made to thrive 

 in India. Certain I am that those stocks of Aitis 

 meUijlca. which I took to Ceylon thrived very well 

 indeed during the lime I had them u.uler niv ob- 

 se; ,-ation . 



I look fenv.inl to the time when bee-culture in 

 India ivill be a source of no ineonsiilcrable revenue ; 

 in fact, I fe.ir the time will yet co?ne when 'Brother 

 Jonathan • across the water will find that his Ions 

 of delicious nectar will have to compete iu the 

 English market with tons of sweets gathered on 

 ' India's coral strand.'— Fb.ink; Ben-to.v, Munich, 

 German;/. 



THE EUCALYPTUS IN ABRAN, SCOTLAND. 



No tree so fully realises the beautiful sayiug of 

 Scripture, ' The leaves of the tree were for the heal- 

 ing of the nations,' .as the (J-um Trees of Australia. 

 They heal the land by drying the poisonous marsh. 

 They heal the air by emitting quantities of ozone to 

 purify it, by removing injurious organic matter. They 

 heal man himself by preventing the spread of disease ; 

 by arrestius; the violence of fever; by allaying the 

 irritation of cough, and by giving sleep to the sleepless. 



We rejoice to be able to report that many species 

 of this tree grow in Arran. They are as follows :— 



1. The Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus).— This is 

 the best known, and the most extensively planted of 

 all the Gums. It germinates freely, grows rapidly, 

 and attains a great height— as high as 330 feet.' 

 When young its leaves are soft, and covered with 

 a flue bloom, and diffuse .ibunilantly a camphoretic 

 odour. It also abounds iu that oil which has been 

 found so beneficial as' a medicine. Like most of the 

 Gums, its appearance in the earlier years of its growth 

 is very different from what it hecome.s when the tree 

 IS more advanced. Then the leaves acquire a scimitar 

 shape, become leathery, diffuse less perfume, and the 

 tree is altogether much less attractive. In this country 

 it has also the disadvantage of being delicate— no 

 tree in Scotland, growing in the opeu air, having sur- 

 vived the .severe winter of 1880-61, except the one 

 at Captain Brown's, Oraigyard, Lamlash. It is now 

 aliout 30 feet in height, and is I foot lO'- inches in 

 girth. Another plant grows at Strabane, Bro*ck. 

 The species is named from the form of the leaves 

 when the plant is young. It has not yet bloomed 

 in Ai-ran, nor any of the other.s. 



2. The Twiggy or Manna Gum (E. viminalis) -- 

 This may be called the Weeping Blue Gum, for while 

 It differs from the Blue Gum in the leaves being 

 small and roundish, and in the branches being very 

 slender, the leaves much resemble the Blue Gum in 

 perfume, bloom, and also in hue, though this i,s some- 

 what more of a plum colour. This species is very 

 hardy. A large tree grows at Whittinghame, East 

 Lothian. One lias been planted this year at Lamla.sh. 

 It is named E. viminalis, from the slcnderness of its 

 branches— Manna Gum from manna being obtained 

 from it. 



3. The Almond-leaved Gum (E. amygdalina).— 

 This and Euc»lyptus colosea are the tallest troes'in 

 the world, growing, in some instances, to the height 

 of nearly .luO lert. A tree nf tl.is .sp( ci.s has ;:rown 

 at Or. m a, C'. rrie, for about fourti-t-n yciirs. It is 

 somewbai .slow in gr ,wth, b. ing ct o ly about 2" 

 fe.t ii. height and 1-3 inche- in g.rtb. Tins Gii.:. i 

 rn.i.e hardy than tlie Line Guru, i.ut not so 



bs >ome other >|jecies. It i» n.in. . f,, n, telii,,.^ 

 sembling those of the Alino..d n,e. Ii .md ib. E ue 

 Gum are the species fii ni v hich the od of coin- 

 mi-rce is principally obtained. 



4. The White Gum (E. p>.ucilloia syii. coriaceal.— 

 In 1870 I received see.i of tids sp. cies fr ni Mr 

 Bailey, Goveriimt nt Botani.^t, Que. ns », ,i ; it hr,l hen 

 gathered on the Blue ilouuui^o, Xew &outL \Vale» 



