September 39, 18C9. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER.. 



275 



finger aide-wiee, and the thictness of the skin had saved me from the 

 ftiU effect of the poison ; but the bnming heat it had engendered in my 

 finger, rnnning right np my arm in an instant, quite satisfied me that 

 I had better let well enongh alone, and drop their acquaintance. I 

 had carried an antidote with me. and as soon as I coold get the cork 

 ont of the bottle, I pat a good drop of ammonia well saturated with 

 opium, on the place where the eting was taken ont, and that soon gave 

 me relief. I soon afterwards found that the honey collected by this 

 large kind of bee is very coarse and often unwholesome. My readers 

 perhaps will cry, Sour Grapes ! Honour bright, however ; what I say 

 is correct. . . 



The domesticated honey bee was always a great favourite with me 

 at home, and indeed with my father and mother before me. I remem- 

 ber how often I used to get stung by them in onr garden, when as a 

 small boy I would disobey orders, and wilfully go to the hive and watch 

 the little creatures, as they came home with their legs laden with little 

 pellets of brown, green, and yellow pollen, which my mother told me 

 was honey, but which I found when I caught one was not sweet at all, 

 and therefore could not be honey — for which experiment I got a caning. 

 I remember also one cold frosty night, as I got into the chimney comer, 

 how all the household was thrown into confusion by some one rushing 

 into the room, saying that there were thieves about, for that they had 

 heard the rustling of their steps in the stubble field behind the house. 

 There was at once a careful listening by all who were bold enough to 

 venture out of doors ; but all was quiet, not a footstep nor the least 

 rustling was to be heard even in the stubble field. My father, how- 

 ever, thought he would make sure by walking round the grounds, and 

 as he went into the garden, he thought in the starlight things did not 

 look all serene about the bee-stall ; and sure enough when he walked 

 ap to it, there was the heaviest hive out of five carried off. To follow 

 the rogue or rogues on the way to the town was the resolution of all in 

 an instant. Bat before they had gone half a mile from the farm- 

 house, a man coming from the town assured them that he had met no 

 one since leaving the town, and they all returned to the house. The 

 search was recommenced the nest day, and my father hit on the idea 

 of going through the town, and looking after the contents of his hive, 

 which he shrewdly conjectured would be there in some window exposed 

 for sale. He returned home full of joy, for he had found his honey — • 

 he knew it was his— there could not be another such a hive, it must 

 be his. the comb was two years and a half old, almost as black as ink, 

 and the honey the best in the world. But the grocer in whose window 

 it was exposed for sale refused to give it np — he had bought it. He 

 did not Imow the person he had bought it of, but he had to come to 

 his shop again the next night, which was Saturday, and if my father 

 would come and wait inside, he would let him see who he was. All 

 was arranged, and what a rise ! The man was the very man that re- 

 taming from the town, told my father he had met no one since 

 leaving the town. The rest may be imagined. Nothing could be done. 

 The other four hives, however, were at once chained down to their 

 blocks. 



I must have been about three years old when these circumstances 

 occurred, and a big boy working on the farm put me up to a way of 

 making experiments far more remunerative than the unloading of the 

 Uttle creatures laden with pollen. He showed me how to hunt out the 

 humble bee, and to rob its nest. The plan was to take a bough of 

 hazel, and thrash the poor bees to death, then pulling the poor crea- 

 tures asunder at the ehoulder. pick out the honey-bag, which then 

 lay exposed. There wis no amusement in this, and I never tried it 

 twice. 



And now to return to my Indian tale. As soon as I saw my error in 

 hoping to domesticate the large saurung, I was fortunate enough to 

 find a hive of the true honey bee — like the one at home — located in a 

 hollow mango tree in my compound. In my ignorance of the Indian 

 bee, I concluded it was the same in its habits as our home bee, and 

 therefore I prepared a box large enough to hold the bees of an 

 English hive. The next thing to be done was to get them out of the 

 tree. No one would help me, for all were afraid of the sting. With 

 a good chisel and a hammer I soon managed to open a way into the 

 hive, but while I was doing this the inmates had been singing excel- 

 rior, and had marched a full arm's length further up the tree. I 

 took out all the combs, and then putting my hand up the tree as far 

 as my arm could reach, X took out a handful of bee», and put them 

 with the comb into the box I had prepared ; but I was obliged to give 

 this up. for as fast as I pot the bees into the box they flew out again. 

 I therefore yielded to necessity, and gave up that plan of proceeding. 

 I then filled up the hole in the tree, as far as I could, with clay, and 

 fixing my box uf upon the tree, made such arrangements that the 

 bees could only get in and oat by passing through my box. I hoped by 

 iOns means to get them into the box with their own comb full of young 

 ones. I was disappointed however, for at five o'clock the next morn- 

 ing, they had all collected outside my box, and were evidently intend- 

 ing to emigrate as soon as their arrangements were matured. I 

 managed to be beforehand with them, for I at once took a basket and 

 whipped them all into it, by the aid of a g^ey goose-quill, and having 

 got them there, I put a cloth over it, and kept them prisoners till the 

 next morning. They showed their displeasure with my arrangements 

 by beginning to fly out as soon as I opened their prison basket. I now 

 caught eight of the queen, and picking her out, clipped her wings with 

 a pair of scissors. Knowing that the hive was now at my mercy, I 

 put them into a large glass diah-cover, such as ia used for protecting 



cakes and such things. A small piece of new comb was fixed in its 

 proper position, and another day in the dark was to produce great re- 

 sults. It did so, for the next morning on opening the covering I saw 

 that the workers had repaired the comb where it had been injured, 

 and the queen had laid a few eggs, so that I felt quite sure all would 

 now be well. 



The colony had become very small. I do not think there could be 

 more than an ounce of bees all together. Bees are a very delicate 

 people, and the least extra trouble or exertion kills them by hundreds. 

 But small as the colony had become, for six days it was very quiet and 

 prosperous, and they had become so accustomed to my investigations 

 that I could take away the glass cover altogether, and the queen her- 

 self did not show any great signs of feeling the indignity if I picked 

 her out aud put her on my hand — the workers seemed most anxious, 

 and usually one or two would accompany her upon my hand. On the 

 seventh day, all my amusement seemed to be at an end ; a servant 

 came to tell me that my bees were on the wing. True enough, there 

 they were, but what was the cause ? And the queen without wings ; 

 where was she? The cause was at once evident; the ants had dis- 

 turbed the new colony, and not being to drive back the enemy, they 

 had vacated their works. The great question was, where was the 

 queen ? After hunting for her for some time, I found her with only 

 two or three attendants, and one or two ants were upon her. I picked 

 her np and put her in a safe place where the workers could get to her. 

 and having secured her person, I set to work to drive off the ants. 

 They had attacked the young grubs aud had killed some of them, to 

 my great distress. At length I got them all clear of the comb, and 

 having put the feet of the table into water, I thought all would be 

 safe for the future, and pat the colony back again with their work. 

 Things did not, however, at all please them. I fancy an odour of 

 the horrid little ants was left npcn the comb, for every now and again, 

 an offended bee would buzz in the greatest anger, twizzling itself 

 round and round for a second, and then rash off to another place. A 

 great reduction in numbers had taken place, and at noon every day 

 the few that remained took wing — I kept them in my room, where 

 I could constantly watch them — but I usually interfered in time to 

 prevent the vacation of the hive. At last, not caring much if I did lose 

 them, I thought I would let them go on to the end, and see the result 

 of the panic whatever it might be. The queen was evidently ill, and 

 ceased to rush about as she usually does when there is excitement in 

 the hive, uttering the long-continued pc-e-e-e. The workers all flew 

 to and fro in and out of the hive, and to my astonishment one of the 

 workers took up the queen, carried her out, and fell with her upon the 

 grass. This was the end of the queen and of my colony of bees, for 

 the queen died that same day, and I took no further notice of the 

 workers. 



I was not long left without other hives, for the natives of the city 

 had taken an interest in my amusement ; the extempore poets made 

 and sang songs about me and my bees, and I had friends on all sides 

 who daily brought me news of new hives. My amusements now 

 formed a reason for morning aud evening exercise, either on foot, or 

 on horseback, or by buggy, and the boys of the city took great interest 

 in the little folk that afforded me amusement. I now took a number 

 of hives in hand ; one I kept in the hollow tree where I found it. I 

 brought it home from a distance of four miles on a cart at night. I 

 filled up the aperture by which they passed in and ont, cut off the timber 

 which was not wanted, and so rendered thB tree manageable. This 

 hive did very well in its new locality, but I could only look at them 

 going in and out, and amuse myself by observing their wonderful in- 

 dustry in working. A farmer who had heard of the eccentric sahib 

 who tamed bees and made them understand him, came and offered me 

 a good strong hive, that had shown decided musical propensities by 

 talnng up their residence in a tom-tom.* This wa? a great gift, and I 

 went by moonlight, and brought it home with great pleasure. I so 

 manipulated the earthen jar over which the skin was drawn to make 

 a tom-tom of it, that I put windows in it, and so got free liberty to 

 look at my friends by night and day. Then I made a door, and so in 

 time got free admission to make experiments. After watching for 

 hours during several days, I managed to see the queen laying her eggs, 

 nearly close to the door. This was just the ticket. I secured her, 

 and put her in a wineglass with a piece of muslin over it. And then 

 I waited to see the result. Again and again I watched for three 

 hours, and no panic, nor yet confusion ; then I thought there was a 

 slight change in the sound from the workers ; then there followed a 

 flying out and immediate return by some ; their work ceased, and in 

 place of its merry ham there was a sort of hushing sound ; then a 

 rush here and there in disorder, aud finally a general rush to the 

 apertnre of the hive, and most of the bees took wing. I knew I was 

 master of the position, so I waited patiently till the panic subsided, 

 and when all was quiet in the evening. I opened the don to return her 

 majesty to her throne and people ; but as I was putting her in, I 

 observed a lump of bees about as large as a ben's e^'g on the comb 

 facing me. I, therefore, put the qneen back to th-? winetjlaBS again, 

 while I examined this nnusual appearance ; and I was wtU repaid for 

 my trouble, for the little creatures seeing their so. I misfortune, hal 

 begun to make a large cell for a new queen. I at once dundedto keep 

 her majesty a prisoner, to see whereunto this thiuK wonld grow. By 

 the next morning the cell was complete, and all attention was given to 

 the grub out of one of the ordinary cells that was in it. The new cell 



' Native drum. 



