1889 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUIiE. 



777 



pailful. The pail is almost sure to be neg- 

 lected by somebody, and then what a mess, 

 no matter whether it is on the ground or on 

 the floor ! Besides, lilting all your crop of 

 honey by the pailful is a tiresome, slow, and 

 laborious operation. In the large apiaries in 

 California, no such arrangement is tolerat- 

 ed. Where we have a great number of out- 

 apiarits, however, it may be impracticable 

 to have ihem all rigged so as to run the hon- 

 ey direct into barrels, or, better still, a large 

 tank. In a good many apiaries, I have seen 

 the honey-house located on a side-hill. The 

 extracting is all done in the upper part of 

 the building, while the basement contains 

 the barrels, a large tank, or other receptacle. 

 In California they often locate a large tank 

 somewhere by the roadside, on lower 

 ground ; then when the honey is to be mar- 

 keted it is allowed to run of itself into what- 

 ever package is decided upon, said package 

 being already in the wagon, ready to be 

 drawn away. No one should ever think of 

 working an extractor that could by any pos- 

 sibility jump around. Ours have screw- 

 holes and screws to fasten the extractor 

 solid to a bench or box, or such a platform 

 as may be decided upon. Extractor- baskets 

 with sloping sides are somewhat more con- 

 venient ; but the upper end of the combs 

 furthest away from the central shaft will al- 

 ways be emptied soonest, or emptied more 

 thoroughly. 1 believe the honey will never 

 fly over the can if the combs are two inches 

 lower than the top edge of the extractor. 

 Large revolving baskets, made so as to 

 swing the comb a good way off from the 

 central shaft, do not need gearing ; in fact, 

 almost every body would eventually prefer 

 them without ; for in getting your combs a 

 good way off from me shaft, you get the 

 same speed without gearing that you would 

 otherwise with. Most bee-keepers prefer to 

 let the honey evaporate more or less by ex- 

 posing it to the air, when the can or barrel 

 should be open at the top. Friend France, 

 however, has never found this necessary. 

 Perhaps 1 should say that the above infor- 

 mation of friend F. was given in reply to a 

 sbi ies of questions asked by Ernest. 



POISONOUS REPTILES OF FLORIDA. 



THE BLACK GRAMPUS, ETC. 



T SEE in August Gleanings an inquiry concern- 

 |if iug the " black grampus " of Florida. This bug 

 W was one of the first of Florida's curious things 

 -*- to attract my notice when I came here three 

 years ago. ft is the Thelyphonus (jiganteus of 

 the scientists; and, though very unlike the spider 

 in habit and appearance, it is a member of the same 

 family. Its home is in damp, rotting wood. Piles 

 of refuse lumber that have been undisturbed for a 

 few months are pretty certain to disclose a gram- 

 pus when turned over. It is about two inches in 

 length, and almost half an inch across the back; is 

 brownish black in color, and has a front ugly and 

 warlike enough to intimidate even a professional 

 bug-catcher. The thorax is protected by a hard, 

 polished coat of mail; and, in addition to three 

 pairs of scratchy-looking legs, has a pair of claws 

 and a sort of stone-crushing' apparatus that would 



do credit to a lobster. These claws each terminate 

 in a pair of short curved needles, and are in every 

 respect well calculated to hold fast all they can 

 clutch. 



The hind part of the body is soft, and ends in a 

 slender, whip-like wiry tail, which is as long as the 

 body, is carritd upright, and furnished with nu- 

 merous short, almost microscopic haiis, all pointing 

 toward the terminal end. Near the root of this tail 

 is a vent, lrom which, when irritated, it discharges a 

 clear, acrid, malodorous fluid. 



Its mode of attack and defense is to lacerate its 

 victim with those horrible claws, and then, dis- 

 charging this poison, it switches its tail over its 

 back. The wiry, hair-set tail is well adapted to carry 

 the venom and throw it into the wound. Its effect 

 is not fatal to man or beast. I know a building- 

 contractor who has been scratched by them several 

 times. He says the pain is but little worse than 

 that caused by a wasp or hornet sting, though the 

 wound is longer healing. 



Many of the negroes believe its bite to be fatal, 

 and are much afraid of ihem; but it is generally 

 considered harmless, unless you put your fingers 

 or toes in its embrace. 1 shall be glad to send the 

 first one I can find to Prof. Cook, and 1 hope he will 

 give us a scientific description of it. 



THAT SNAKE THAT BREAKS IN TWO. 



1 have never heard of the snake that breaks in 

 two like a dry stick, and survives the break; and I 

 venture the guess that it is one of the kind of 

 snakes seen only by those who " look upon the wine 

 when it is red." 



No one need fear to come to Florida on account 

 of venomous reptiles and insects. 1 have killed 

 more snakes in Pennsylvania meadows in half a 

 day's mowing than 1 have seen here in three years; 

 and many persons have lived here lor years, and 

 never even heard of the grampus and scorpion. 



Orlando, Fla., Sept. 6, 1889. E. J. Baird. 



This matter is certainly interesting to me. 

 The idea that the grampus makes wounds 

 with its claws and then throws poison into 

 the wounds is wonderful ; and it is espe- 

 cially interesting to those who have studied 

 bees, because it is so nearly in a line with 

 the wonderful phenomenon of the bee-sting. 

 In regard to snakes that break in two, will 

 Prof. Cook straighten us out on the matter? 

 if I am correct, the /Scientific American stat- 

 ed, some years ago, that there was a snake 

 answering somewhat to these accounts ; 

 but, if I am correct, the part that breaks off 

 is a horny substance, somewhat like the 

 rattles of the rattlesnake. Of course, this 

 part has no life in it, either before or after 

 separation. 



Hello ! Here are some facts from a broth- 

 er, right to the point : 



THOSE SNAKES THAT BREAK IN TWO AND DO NOT 

 BLEED. 



I see that one of your correspondents talks about 

 a snake that can be broken in pieces, the head run 

 off, etc. Now, we have that fellow here, but not 

 very common. When I first came to this country 

 from Ohio, the natives used to tell about this snake, 

 and I did not believe one word of it; but I soon 

 came across one. They are from 18 to 24 inches 

 long, and look very much like our common garter- 

 snake when he first sheds his old coat— very slick 

 and shiny, head longer and slimmer. It can run 

 very fast in the grass, but can hardly cross a road 



