1879 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



481 



CUTTING A BEE TREE "BOW.Y SOUTH." 



-"anywhere, anywhire, out of the' 



HOW THEY (JOT 1 I 13) <>:-' H:)\'EV AND -S:)MS STINGS 

 TOO. 



BEAR NOVICE: —As cutting bee trees seem3 to 

 have a fascination for you, Iwill try to relate 

 my experience in cutting one, so;ii3 two years 

 ago. The swamp containing the bee trees was lo- 

 cated about two miles from me, and I learned that 

 the bees had occupied one of the trees (there were 

 two) for a period of about five years; the other, 

 some 60 feet from th3 first nam.3i, had been a bee 

 tree for three years. Owing- to th3 swamp? all a- 

 bout, the trees being from 3 to 4 feet deep in water, 

 no one had ever had the "brass" to so in and cut the 

 trees. Besides, no one ,in the immediate vicinity 

 knew or eared much for bees or bee trees. 



We managed, four of us, to get through the swamp 

 to the bee trees, by la, ins - poles, as impromptu 

 bridges, and walking on them, supported by a pole 

 in our hands, one end being constantly kept on the 

 bottom, in order to retain our equilibrium. That 

 voyage was a very "precarious travel," you can rest 

 assured. We went in proudly erect, laughing, jok- 

 ing, &c. ; but, alas ! our spirits were not long to re- 

 main in this joyous mood. I was accompanied by 



friends, W and Lamb; also by a young colored 



man, named Isaac. None of us were familiar with 

 cutting bee trees; in fact, the colored boy, Isaac, 

 knew nothing about bees at all. 



Upon cutting into the tree, which was a large ex- 

 press about three feet through, we soon found that 

 it was hollow, a mere shell, in fact. 



The two entrances used by the bees were probably 

 forty feet from the ground, and about four feet a- 

 part, and each perhaps four inches in diameter. 



While cutting- the tree, I casually remarked to the 

 colored boy, that as soon as the tree fell he would 

 better run out upon the trunk and stop the en- 

 trances, so that the bees would be unable to come 

 out too numerously, and sting us. I had no idea that 

 he thought I was iu earnest, but, as soon as the tree 

 had reached the ground (having- fallen partly on 

 smaller trees, it did not get clear down into the wat- 

 er, remember), Isaac was tar out among its branches. 

 He was bravely attempting to stop the holes in the 

 tree, but, alas! he found that he had prepared noth- 

 ing- with which to do so. 



Upon the impulse of the moment, in his wild ex- 

 citement, he yelled "I've got'em, boss." I looked 

 up between "dodging- times" (bees were thick out at 

 the stump by this time), and beheld him with one 

 bare foot over each of the holes. 



Just about this time, the bees were pouring out 

 from a crack in the tree, on one side, out of Isaac's 

 view, at the rate of a pint per second. Isaac's per- 

 son was enveloped in only a thin muslin shirt, open 

 at the back, and low in the neck, and thin, cotton 

 pantaloons; he had no hat or shoes, or any protec- 

 tion for his face! 



I gazed upon him in this trying dilemma in awe. 

 I ft It, that there was going to be a "red hot" time in 

 that swamp, in a few moments. 



I looked upon Isaac's devoted person as "sacrific- 

 ed;" aye, for an instant, thoughts of the "boy on 

 the burning- deck," "Fourth of July," and divers 

 such brave sentiments flashed through my mind, at 

 the sublime scene before me. In just about three sec- 

 onde, Isaac- seemed to have a cloud upon his manly 

 countenance; then he realized that "There is no 



place like' 



bees! 



He made one frantic plunge toward us, on his 

 way to liberty, delivering a wild an 1 fiend like yell, 

 that would have curdled the blood of our western 

 settlers, who are U3sd to hea-ing the war Whoop of 

 the wild red man. I looked after him as best I could. 

 He had, apparently, a full peck of bees working dil- 

 igently upon his head, neck, and face; his naked, 

 black shoulders were livid with the hybrids sticking 

 thereto. 



One partial glimpse of all this, and I was gazing 

 upon vacancy. The bees reminded me of the tail of 

 acomet, as they followed the boy at lightening speed. 

 By this time, the bees were making it hot, terribly 

 hot, at the stump of the felled tree, and, upon look- 

 ing round, I beheld an intensely interesting tableau. 

 Friends W and Lamb occupied safe, if not grace- 

 ful, attitudes. W was in a hole of water up to his 



waist, with a whole mosquito-bar enveloping his 

 head, shoulders, and arms. Lamb had fallen upon 

 his knees, in the attitude of prayer, with his hands 

 and arms plunged into the water to his elbows. He 

 had about four cubic yards of wire cloth made into 

 a bee hat, and in consequence could crawl under his 

 bee hat and be pretty safe, excepting his hands and 

 arms! He couldn't begin to get them under! 



No amount of persuasion could induce friend 



W to leave his damp situation just yet though,to 



cut the thing short, I will briefly say, that we finally 

 took about one hundred pounds of fine honey from 

 the tree. I am sorry I can't end this by saying, "I 

 took the bees home, put them in a movable frame 

 hive, gave them an Italian queen, and to day they 

 are as fine an Italian colony as any one would desire 

 to see." No, we left the bees; we had enough honey, 

 and bees (stings) to lust us f»r several weeks. Three 

 hours later, we interviewed Isaac. His feet were 

 terribly stung on their bottoms, his shoulders were 



in a bad fix, his head well, it was like 16 heads 



rolled into one. It was swelled as large as a ten gal- 

 lon keg, and reminded me somewhat of one, painted . 

 black. 



His eyes were entirely closed up, and ever and 

 anon, as a sickly smile passed over his dreary look- 

 ing and saddened visage, his mouth appeared like an 

 elongated bung-hole in a molasses hogshead. 



He turned his head in my direction, and in plain- 

 tive tones wailed "Mr. Taylor, what made you gin 

 me away in dis style for?" 



I of course, told him, that I supposed he had more 

 sense than to think that I was in earnest. 



He says that he "don't b'leive dem insex likes 

 niggers noway." Anyhow, said he "I's done wid'em 

 for ever more; fore goodness, I is!" 



Gleanings, your A B C, A. B. J. and B. K. M., all 

 combined, would not be able to make a bee keeper 

 of Isaac now. 



I will tell you some day of that other bee tree in 

 the same swamp, if you survive this letter. 



Yours Bee Trecially, R. c. Taylor. 



Wilmington, N. ('., Nov. 5,1879. 



WHAT BECOMES OF ALL THE DRONES' 



A NEW THEORY. 



JUDGING from what has been published of late, 

 on the subject of drones, the question as to how 

 long- these live under ordinary circumstances, 

 the manner in which they perish, &c, is still an 

 open one. In August last, some beautifully marked 



