THE SMERIC35P* BBS JQURNSE,. 



343 



ville, iu connection with a Maj--day 

 picnic. 



At 11 o'clock a.m. an invocation was 

 offered by Rev. W. K. Duff, of Green- 

 ville, and a speech of welcome was 

 then tendered by Hon. J. S. Sherrill. 



Dr. W. K. Marshall, of Marshall, 

 Texas, was introduced and delivered 

 an excellent address on the happy 

 surroundings of the day, and the moral 

 education of the rising generation. 

 The Doctor's speech was a splendid 

 effort, and we trust that it made a 

 deep impression. A sumptuous repast 

 was spread at noon, to which all did 

 ample justice. 



After dinner, at 2 p.m., the conven- 

 tion was called to order by Vice-Presi- 

 dent W. R. Graham. Judge W. H. 

 Andrews, of McKinney, Texas, was in- 

 troduced, and gave a lecture on the 

 following points in bee-culture : Im- 

 portance of bee-culture ; implements 

 of bee-culture ; hives, frames, etc. ; 

 bee-keeping as a specialty ; uncertainty; 

 honey-plants of Texas ; races of bees — 

 the best and most beautiful ; handling 

 of bees ; and their propensity to stiug. 



Dr. W. K. Marshall then drew a 

 graphic contrast of modern bee-keep- 

 ing with the past methods, now be- 

 coming obsolete. 



The convention then adjourned to 

 meet the next morning at 9 o'clock. 



SECOND DAY. 



The convention met on Thursday, 

 May 2, at 9 a.m., and called to order 

 by Vice-President W. R. Graham. 



Judge Andrews was introduced, and 

 continued his lecture on bee-culture ; 

 on rearing and introducing queens. 

 The lectures were of vital interest to 

 bee-keepers. 



On motion, the officers of the Asso- 

 ciation were elected for the ensuing 

 year, as follows : W. R. Graham, of 

 Greenville, President ; J. P. Caldwell, 

 of San Marcos, Vice-President; J.N. 

 Hunter, of Celeste, Secretary ; and G. 

 H. Wilson, of McKinney, Treasurer. 



Greenville was selected as the place 

 of the next meeting. 



J. N. HcNTER, .Sec. 



APIS DORSATA. 



Climbing Trec§ loOet tlie Large 

 I{cc§ of Java. 



Africa, it will be found to take in, first, 

 the island Ceylon and the extreme 

 southern part of India proper, and 

 next, the so-called "East India Is- 

 lands " in the Malay Archipelago ; then 

 passing by the nurthern extremity of 

 Australia to New (iuinea, and to the 

 least important of the island groups in 

 the Pacific Ocean. North of this nar- 

 row belt lie those districts of Arabia, 

 India, and Eastern Asia, which were 

 amongst the earliest inhabited parts of 



Written for the Australasian Bee Journal 



BY T. J. MCLVANY. 



by Latrielle Apis indica, A. sirialis, and 

 A. dorsala ; but a closer inquiry seems 

 to indicate that these are not separate 

 species, but onlj' varieties of the Apis 

 vidifica. I do not know if this point 

 is as yet quite settled to the satisfac- 

 tion of scientific men ; but at all events, 

 the A2ns dorsala, of which we hear 

 most in Southern India, in Ceylon, and 

 in the eastern islands, is a very re- 

 markable insect, and seems to differ 

 more in size, chai'acter and habits 



Confining our attention for the pres- 

 ent (as we have done in preceding 

 papers in regard to South America and 

 to Africa) to that portion of the tropi- 

 cal zone which extends abou 10- north 

 and south of the equator, and tracing 

 this belt eastward from the coast of 



Climbing Aflcr Apis Dorsala. 



the globe, and into which the honey- 

 bee had found its way, and where the 

 use of honey and the traffic in both 

 honey and beeswax seem to have been 

 established long before the earliest 

 pages of history were written. 



The Egyptian bee (Apis fasciala of 

 Latrielle) appears to be the variety 

 which extended itself most extensively 

 eastwards, through Arabia, Central 

 Asia, north of the Himalayas, and into 

 China. The peninsula of India proper, 

 south of the Himalayas, is said by Dr. 

 Gerstaecker to possess three indige- 

 nous species of the genus apis, named 



from the European honey-bee, than 

 any other variety we have heard of. 



it is now some eight or nine years 

 since Mr. 1). A. Jones, of Canada, took 

 steps to ascertian the practicability, or 

 the reverse, of importing the East 

 India variety of the honey-bee. Mr. 

 Benton, who was sent out by him to 

 Ceylon, in his first report wrote : 

 "Apis dorsala is a wonderful bee, 

 whether it can be domesticated or not. 

 It builds in the open air on branches, 

 often making combs six feet long ; and 

 I have good authority for saying that 

 thirty natives have each taken a load of 



