1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



281 



sivfi bee-koepers of this country. I have my doubts about it, 

 as I don't think the majority know one thing about it at the 

 present time. Now, if the Apis dorsata is what we want, and 

 it will be a benetit to this country, then I hold up both hands 

 for it. But do we want the Apis dorsata? 



The Australians wanted the rabbits, but they don't want 

 them now. We wanted the sparrows, but we don't want them 

 now. We have the imported currant-worm, but we don't 

 want it any )uore. We have the Cyprian bees, but how many 

 want them now? We have many imported insects, birds, 

 quadrupeds and bipeds that we wish we did not have. So I 

 will suggest that all parties go slow, and know just what they 

 are doing with them in their native home. If the drones from 

 Apis dorsata only fly after sundown, how are we to use them 

 for any benefit to our queens, if any benefit it will be ? 



I would like to hear from our good friend D. A. Jones, who 

 spent thousands of dollars investigating the different varieties 

 of foreign bees. Mr. Jones did a great work, and we should 

 always hold him in grateful remembrance. 



H. D. Cutting. 



I hardly know how to reply to the request as to the mat- 

 ter of importing the big Indian bee. Two men who have seen 

 it in its native place are hopeful that it might be successfully 

 and profitably introduced. Gravenhorst thinks there is no 

 reason why it might not cross with the smaller bees. Others 

 think differently. I think it is Baldensperger who says it is 

 impossible to domesticate it, and the only attempts in that 

 line that I ever read about were utter failure. Cheshire thinks 

 its Introduction would not be valuable, and says: "Fortu- 

 nately, it is in the very nature of things impracticable to 

 ' hybridize ' our bees with dorsata." If it is thought advisable 

 to make any effort with regard to it, it would be a good deal 

 cheaper, I should think, to have the experiment made near or 

 on its own ground. If it cannot be kept in a hive there, or if 

 it cannot be crossed with other bees, it is not worth while to 

 bring it here. 



The wording of the petition given on page 217, would 

 have to be changed to get the signatures of well-informed bee- 

 keepers. The statement, "It is believed that these bees would 

 be of great advantage," etc., is probably the reverse of the 

 truth, if the general belief is meant ; and it is equally far from 

 correct to say that in desiring the introduction of dorsata, 

 " we represent the sentiment of a majority of the progressive 

 bee-keepers of the country." 



Probably the strongest argument in favor of dorsata, pro- 

 viding it could be successfully introduced, is that on account 

 of its size it could work on red clover. If .we want the Cov- 

 ernment to help toward securing honey from red clover, why 

 not work in a more certain direction? For a tithe of the ex- 

 pense, we could get from France bees whose size has boon in- 

 creased until the length of tongue is much beyond the average. 

 Dr. J. P. Murdock has bees of such size that they are said to 

 work freely on red clover. As to these bees, I know for cer- 

 tain that they build worker-comb very nearly as large as 

 drone-comb, their drone-comb being proportionately increased 

 in size. 



On the whole, would it not be better to spend money in 

 getting what is less problematical, or in first finding out 

 whether dorsata is worth anything if it should be introduced ? 



C. C. MiLLEK. 



Comment from us on this subject is hardly necessary, even 



were we competent to speak on the subject. Prof. Cook 



has referred to the matter favorably, on page 227, so that 



makes four out of 25 who were asked to express their opinion. 



Three practically against the importation of Apis dorsata, and 



one for it — so far as heard from. Well, if that is any indication 



of the minds of the " progressive bee-keepers of the country," 



it would seem that they are not yet tumbling over each other 



in their rush to have the " big Indian bee" brought to our 



shores. 



^-•-» 



The mesquite Tree.— Among the trees whose 

 blossoms yield nectar may be named the mesquite, which 

 grows in certain parts of the United States. In the Pacific 

 Rural Press we find the following paragraphs concerning 

 mesquite and its uses: 



As is well known to those familiar with this tree, it is 

 useful in many ways to the people of Mexico and the south- 

 western part of the United States. Its roots and wood are 

 excellent for fuel ; the gum is used for dyeing, and also as a 

 medicine \ the leaves and poda, or beans, aa they are usually 



called, are valuable forage for stock, and are also prized by 

 Mexicans and Indians as food. These " beans " consist of an 

 outer husk or pod, and of hard kernels. The pods are agree- 

 able to the taste, and very nutritious. Their food-value 

 largely depends upon the sugar contained, as high as 24 per 

 cent, having been found in them. The kernels are exceed- 

 ingly hard, and are not digestible by animals when swallowed. 

 Analyses, however, show them to be very nutritious, and if a 

 way could be found to utilize them the value of the " beans " 

 for stock would be much increased. 



The flowers of the mesquite yield an excellent honey, and 

 in this way the tree is of commercial importance to the bee- 

 keepers of the regions where it grows. 



These many uses make it desirable to avoid needless de- 

 struction of this tree, and although it is a slow grower, it 

 would probable in the long run be of advantage to plant it, 

 since it is especially adapted to arid surroundings, and will 

 thrive in situations where most trees will perish. 



This tree and its products have been undergoing careful 

 examination at the hands of Prof. Forbes, Chemist of the 

 Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Arizona. 



A Foul (Brood) Joke. — In the Canadian Bee 

 Journal for April wo find that at the last Ontario convention 

 a certain member raised this question, in all seriousness: 

 " Should not the public be made acquainted with the fact that 

 a pe»'so7!, has foul brood." (Italics ours.) The idea of a "per- 

 son " having foul brood I Whenever that happens, no doubt 

 the public will not need to be specially informed — they'll find 

 it out soon enough. Of course the question had reference to 

 a person's hees, though it was not so printed. 



Big Bees of Cochin China. 



In looking over an old volume of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, I came across the following under the title — 



A CHINESE BEE. 



"The Apicultural Section of the Entomological Society at 

 its annual meeting in Paris, in August, 1874, made many in- 

 teresting statements. M. Durand Saint Armand, a govern- 

 ment officer in Cochin China, states that the country possesses 

 a bee twice the size of ours, which, consequently, ought to ex- 

 tract the honey from red clover which is known to be very 

 abundant. This bee is found in great numbers all along the 

 coast, in a wild state, in hollow trees, and the natives hunt 

 them for their wax. The extensive forests of this country are 

 leased for the product of wax which is to be sold to the Chi- 

 nese." 



Here then would appear to be our bee twice the size of 

 Apis mellifica and living like them in hollow trees. Can not 

 our bee-keeping friends in France give us more information 

 in regard to these bees? I believe a large portion, if not all, 

 of Cochin China is now in the hands of France. I should not 

 now have thought so much of this statement had I not in con- 

 versation with a returned missionary learned of the same or 

 a similar bee, under domestication by the Chinese in western 

 China. As he was a young man, a native of this town, brought 

 up on a farm, I felt that his statements were worthy of entire 

 confidence. He said the bees of Western China were in size 

 midway between our hive-bees and the bumble-bee, aud were, 

 like our domestic bees, kept in hives ; and must be of gentle 

 disposition as he had seen a colony clustered in a crowded 

 street yet no one seemed afraid of them. I had hoped before 

 this to have secured specimens of them, but owing perhaps to 

 the unsettled condition of the country I have not as yet re- 

 ceived them. I supposed when he first told me of them that 

 they were the Apis dorsata which the Chinese had domestica- 

 ted, but I now think they must belong to another species. — J. 

 E. Ckane, in Review. 



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