BEES 



BEES--WAX THE INDIAN BEES 



particulars have already been given of these localities that need not be repeated. 

 The Bashahr supply comes usually to about 20,000 Ib. of wax that is sold at the 



Bampur. annual fair of Rampur. In Hazara, bee-keeping is practised for the sake of the 



honey, and the wax obtained appears to be largely used up locally. In Kangra 

 it is said 2 to 3 maunds of the annual productions are employed by the brass and 

 coppersmiths in moulding their wares. In Hazara the honey is collected in 

 November, in Kullu during July and again in October, while in Chamba the 



Seasons. seasons are May to June and September to October, and in Kashmir it is gathered 



from September to October. The hives contain from 20 to 40 Ib. of honey 

 and 2 to 4 Ib. of wax. 



Afghanistan. Kuram Valley and Afghanistan, Bees are believed to be extensively kept 



by the hill people, and the produce is to some extent exported to India. 



Rajputana. Honey and wax are collected at Ammer, Baojari, Dewari, 

 Mandla, and Todgarh, but the supply of wax is very small. 



Bombay. The honey and wax of this Presidency are drawn mainly 



Khandesh. from Khandesh (Satpiira mountains largely) and the Deccan. The chief localities 



are Belgaum 1,500 Ib. ; Dharwar, 1,500 Ib. ; Kanara, 3,000 Ib. ; Panch Mahals, 

 4,000 Ib. ; Ratnagiri, Satpuras, 500 Ib. ; Satara, 560 Ib. ; Salsette, etc. 

 The figures denote the approximate annual supply. Locally it fetches from 

 4 to 10 annas a seer (2 Ib.) ; the Bombay maund in some returns is 28 Ib., and the 



Prices. price of wax per such maunds is quoted at Rs. 14 to 20 ; in other cases the maund 



is 40 Ib. and the price returned as Rs. 25 to 30. The wax is said to be usually 

 about one quarter the value of the honey. The exports from the Presidency 

 go mainly to the towns of Bombay and Goa. 



Berar. The districts most noted are Ellichpur, Mangrul, Melghat, and 

 Wun. The supply is not large, and the local price is about 4 annas a pound. 



Madras. Madras. Bees are met with on all the mountains and low hills of the 



Madras Presidency, but the following are the chief centres of supply in alphabeti- 

 cal sequence of their names : Bellary, 800 Ib. ; Coimbatore, 8,000 Ib. ; Cudda- 

 pah, 3,500 Ib. ; Ganjam, 1,600 Ib. ; Godavari, Kistna, Karnul, 6,000 Ib. ; 

 Madura, Malabar, 200 Ib. ; Nellore, 500 Ib. ; Nilgiri, North Arcot, South Kanara, 

 Trichinopoly, and Vizagapatam, 700 Ib. The figures give the annual supply 

 of each of the places named. The Madras maund is 25 Ib. and wax is said to 

 sell at from Rs. 10 to Rs. 20 a maund, but it is often to be had at 4 annas (say 

 Rs. 5 a maund) or it may fetch as much as 12 annas a pound. 



Burma. Following the system pursued with the provinces of India, 

 the following may be mentioned as the centres of Burmese supply : Bhamo, 

 Chindwin, Katha, Mandalay, Minbu, Pyinmana, and Tenasserim. In the Upper 

 Chindwin there seems to be a prosperous trade in honey and wax. It is brought 

 for sale in the Kabaw valley. In the lower Chindwin, Mankadaw is the mart. 

 It is probable that the total supply from the Chindwin comes to something like 

 4,000 to 6,000 viss (viss = 3'65 Ib.). The rate at which it is sold comes to about 

 10 annas a pound, but in the towns a much higher figure is quoted. In Tenas- 

 serim it averages from 9 annas to Rs. 1-5 a pound. It is impossible to give even 

 an approximate estimate of the Burmese total production, but wax is largely 

 imported, so that there cannot be a margin for export. 



Chemical Investigations. Hooper, concluding his report on the 

 extensive series of samples that had been placed in his hands for 

 chemical examination, says : " In studying the tables of analyses " 

 drawn up as the result of the investigations conducted in the 

 Indian Museum " two very interesting facts will be revealed. The first 

 is the lower acid value of Indian bees'-wax ; this indicates a different 

 ratio between the cerotic acid and myricitin compared with that of 

 waxes from other parts of the world, and the second is the uniformity 

 in composition of the secretion of the three kinds of Indian bees 

 representing the APIS family. The appearance of the wax from the 

 three species gives no clue to the origin, and although there are two or 

 three somewhat abnormal deviations from the average on account of the 

 high saponification value and the wide range of the iodine value, there is 

 NO Adulteration, very little, if any, suspicion of adulteration. The wax from the combs of 

 Apis tfornftta, A. indica, and A. florea is, therefore, practically 



126 



Prices. 

 Burma. 



Upper 

 Chindwin. 



Low Acid 

 Value. 



Uniformity. 



