174 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 1. 



THE COWAjX extractor. 



I now wish to say a few words in regard to 

 the Cowan extractor, as ray experience in ex- 

 tracting 9 tons has brought to notice one 

 feature that I did not notice on first trial. We 

 had used it but a few times when one morning, 

 on starting for an out-apiary, I was surprised 

 to see my assistant (who turns the machines) 

 putting the Cowan into his buggy. I asked, 

 " Why are you taking that, as there is an ex- 

 tractor there?" He replied that the other 

 machine always daubed- his clothes, as if they 

 were sprayed with honey, but that he could 

 use the Cowan and keep clean; and I soon 

 noticed that he was right: and I feel sure that 

 any one who has had trouble by this will ap- 

 preciate the Cowan. Frank McNay. 



Mauston, Wis., Feb. 10. 



[Something over a year ago Mr. McNay call- 

 ed at the Home of the Honey-bees. At the 

 time, we were " down sick with the earache 

 over home." The pain was about as much as 

 we could bear without groaning; but hearing 

 that friend McNay was over at the shop we 

 sent over word, asking him to make us a call. 

 We enjoyed quite a pleasant visit with him, de- 

 spite the pain. Mr. McNay gave us quite an 

 interesting account of how he manages bees on 

 such an extensive scale, and we asked him to 

 favor us with an article occasionally, and the 

 above is the first one of the series, and we hope 

 it will not be the last one.] 



BALDENSPERGER'S LETTER. 



SAMSON, AND THE HONEY FROM THE LION'S 



carcass; that mammoth honey- 

 extractor, ETC. 



In many parts of Africa the smoking of to- 

 bacco is prohibited by order of the Mohamme- 

 dan Sultan, II Moolah Hassan, of Marocco; and 

 there are some tribes that will not even inter- 

 marry with those who smoke. In Abyssinia 

 the Christian kings forbid tobacco altogether. 

 King Menelek cuts off the noses, lips, and hands 

 of such of his subjects as use tobacco again; 

 but in the south of Algiers lives a tribe of 

 Arabs, the Mozabites, or Beni-M'zab, in seven 

 cities. They differ somewhat from other Mo- 

 hammedans, particularly in the fact that they 

 do not adore all saints; and, contrary to Arabic 

 custom, they drink no coffee and never smoke 

 tobacco. Some of them do, though, when they 

 leave their southern republic and come north. 

 They are a very commercial people, and at Al- 

 giers they are known as the most straight- 

 forward business men, in consequence of their 

 abstinence from strong drink. Honey comes in 

 as a substitute; and it is for that reason that 

 they buy thousands of pounds of it. which they 

 send off to their diy homes. In order to remain 

 in their community they are obliged to go 

 home once in a while. They never have any, 

 luxury whatever about them; and, though very 

 wealthy, they go about in coarse cloth, and are 

 called " Muchew " by the natives, which means 

 '"small one." They are very well versed in 

 their history; but the Mohammedans proper 

 hate them and call them the "Fifth ones," as 

 they do not belong to any of the four recognized 

 sects of Islam — Malki, flanuafi, Shafi, and Han- 

 bali. 



On page 815, Nov. 1, the proof-reader suggests 

 that flies, etc., can not develop in arid climates 

 like Arizona and Palestine, as is shown in the 

 case of the carcass of the lion. Now, Palestine, 

 though very hot, is just the place to develop 

 those very troublesome flies; and the identical 

 roek of Etham, where Samson was, is full of 



caves where the flocks resort in the spring of 

 the year; and during the daytime the women 

 churn the milk and dry the cheese in the sun. 

 Such places are literally tilled with flies. And, 

 again, the road .Samson took, according to the 

 14th chapter of Judges, is well known to me. 

 The new railway, from Jaffa to Jerusalem, 

 crosses that road. However, last year we often 

 went that way. Eshtaol, now Eshna' et Zora, 

 or Sar'a, have large apiaries; and the way to 

 Tibnah, the Bible Timnath. is full of springs 

 and damp swamps, where all kinds of mosqui- 

 toes and other vermin thrive; and bees, also, do 

 well, in consequence of the luxuriant vegeta- 

 tion and plenty of water. The carcass of the 

 lion, which Samson had killed some time be- 

 fore, must have been thrown beside a colony of 

 bees already established there in the rock or be- 

 hind a wall, and Samson went to look at the 

 carcass in the day time and found the bees fly- 

 ing in and out, so he took some honey. As a 

 matter of course, the fact that honey was al- 

 ready found in the colony of bees proves that 

 the colony had been longer there than the dead 

 beast. Then, again, in chapter 13, 7th verse, 

 Samson's mother seems to have accepted the 

 oath for Samson not to eat any unclean thing. 

 Samson, a Nazarite, would have disdained hon- 

 ey from the carcass itself; and his parents, too, 

 ate of it. It was probably the case with the 

 language then as it is now — the honey was near 

 the carcass, and the writer puts it " the heart of 

 the carcass," meaning thereby that it was close 

 by. Perhaps the carcass was even thrown upon 

 the rock, and the bees had to seek their way 

 through the next morning. Panthers were still 

 found ai'ound there till recently; but the noise 

 of the railway has driven away those felines 

 from the hitherto abandoned mountain-gorges. 

 Carcasses never dry up, but decay. The skele- 

 ton alone remains. Numerous jackals do away 

 with dead cattle in a short time. 



That mammoth extractor, p. 83.5, Nov. 15, is, 

 of course, unique, but I do not suppose it will 

 extend very far bfeyond Cuba, unless such im- 

 mense honey-fields are found elsewhere. An 

 extractor holding four frames is quite large 

 enough to throw out hundreds of pounds a day. 



I did not think that people of the editor's age 

 would begin "wheeling." Perhaps it maybe- 

 come more general: but just now the prices are 

 a good deal too high. 



Mr. S. F. Trego's bees, I suppose, have been 

 greatly frightened by the six kicks. That is 

 why, I presume, they did not sting. Why should 

 they have acted like flies, with such rough 

 treatment? It can be accounted for only by 

 their great weakness. A double-story hive full 

 of bees would not act so. Any race would be 

 quick at stinging. 



Page 882, your proof-reader, I think, is quite 

 right. Keep the romantic names. They tell 

 very well the history of bygone days. In the 

 old Bible lands many old names still exist, such 

 as Beni-Barak, Jehud, etc., existing before 

 Joshua took those cities. Then, again, many 

 cities changed their names under the different 

 nations successively governing Palestine. Do 

 not such names tell us of the antiquity of the 

 places, and, at the same time, to a great extent 

 help to constitute written history, though in- 

 complete? The story of Samson, above alluded 

 to, shows also how useful it is to have kept the 

 very same names. Some names, too, remind us 

 of the Roman occupancy ; as, Colonia, Castle, 

 Csesarea, etc.; while others recall the Crusades, 

 such as Sinjil, a corruption of St. Gilles; Wall- 

 age, a corruption of Village: St. Jean d'Acre, 

 etc. Also the Greek domination has left names 

 from that language. Thus, the old Sichem was 

 changed into Neapolis (new city) by the Greek 

 rulers, and now retains that name under the 



