TMm mjmmMi€^mn be® j&umnmijr. 



345 



it, its color changed in a most curious man- 

 ner from l)lack to wliite, tlie myriads of bees 

 tliat liart covered it tlyiuK off and forming a 

 dense cloud above and around. 



Tlie man tlien lay at full length alone the 

 limb, and brushed off the remaining bees 

 with liis hand, and then drawing liis knife 

 cut off the comb at one slice close to the 

 tree, and attactiing the thin cord to it, let it 

 down to his foinpanion below. He was all 

 this time enveloped in a crowd of angry 

 bees, and how ne bore their stings so coolly, 

 and went on with his work at that dizzy 

 heiKht so deliberatelj', was more than 1 

 could UDderstaud. The bees were evidently 

 not stupefied by the smoke, or driven away 

 far by it, and it was impossible that the 

 small stream from the torch could protect 

 his whole body when at work. There were 

 three other combs on the same tree, and all 

 were successfully taken, and furnished the 

 whole party with a luscious feast of honey 

 and young bees, as well as a valuable lot of 

 wax. 



After two of the combs had been let down, 

 the bees became rather numerous below, 

 flying al3out wildly, and stinging viciously. 

 Several got about me, and I was soon stung, 

 and had to run away, beating them off with 

 my net, and capturing them for specimens. 

 Several of them followed me for at least 

 half a mile, getting into ray hair, and per- 

 secuting me most pertinaciously, so that I 

 was more astonished than ever at the im- 

 munity of the natives. 



I am inclined to think that slow and de- 

 liberate motions, and no attempt at escape, 

 are perhaps the best safeguards. A bee set- 

 tling on a passive native probably behaves 

 as it would on a tree or other inanimate 

 substance, which it does not attempt to 

 sting. Still they must often suffer, but they 

 are used to the pain, and learn to bear it im- 

 passively, as without doing so no man could 

 De a bee-hunter. 



Timor is nearly the most eastern of 

 the East India islands, and that nearest 

 to the northwest coast of Australia, 

 from which it is, however, more than 

 300 miles distant. The Apis dorsata 

 never made its way across that sea, as 

 neither it nor any of the Euroi)ean 

 varieties of the Apis mdifica was known 

 in Australia until the latter were intro- 

 duced Ijy the wliite settlers. It is well 

 known that tliere is an extraordinary 

 and very marked difference between 

 both the fauna and llora of continental 

 Asia and those of Australasia ; and 

 naturalists point out, as the al)rupt 

 boundary between the two, a narrow 

 strip of deep water which divides the 

 shallow seas on each side of a line 

 passing between the islands of Bali 

 and Lombock, and through the Macas- 

 sar Straits, between Borneo and 

 Celebes. 



Some of the western species of birds, 

 and some insects — the Apis dorsata 

 among the latter — have made their 

 way or been carried to sonic of the 

 islands east of that line of demarcation, 

 but no further, in a southeasterly direc- 

 tion, than Timor, as above mentioned. 

 As bees are plentiful in Celebes, and 

 there are several large and small is- 

 lands scattered between it and tlie 

 great island of New Guinea, which 

 might serve as stages in the eastward 

 spread of the insects, one would ex- 

 pect to find them also in tlic latter 



place ; but I have not seen any men- 

 tion of bees or lioucy in the meagre 

 accounts of New Guinea, which I have 

 chanced to come across. Of the Pacilic 

 islands in tliis equatorial belt, the Car- 

 oline, Marshall, Gilbert, Ellicc, and 

 PhoMiix groups. Xew Britain, and 

 Solumon Islands, etc., but little is 

 known. They are, no doubt, destitute 

 of any species of the honey-bee. 



Witli regard to tlie more important 

 and better known groups in the soutli- 

 ern tropical region — New Caledonia, 

 New Hebrides, Fiji, Samoa, the 

 Friendly, Cook's, and Society groups, 

 etc., it is greatly to be wished that in- 

 formation on this subject could be col- 

 lected from parties who may have 

 visited them. In the principal of 

 these islands now inhabited by Euro- 

 peans, apiculture Avill, no doubt, have 

 been already introduced to some ex- 

 tent, and it is to be hoped that some 

 among these pioneers of the industry 

 may be readers of the Australasian 

 Bee Journal, and may be induced to 

 favor us with the information desired. 



TRANSFERRING. 



How to Transfer Bees froii Box. 

 Hires. 



Written for the Orange Judd Farmer 



BY JAS. rOINDEXTER. 



Fastening combs in frames by wrap- 

 ping strings of wire around, slipping 

 clasps over frames and combs, or run- 

 ning melted wax lietween the pieces 

 of comb, etc., to hold them in place, 

 have all proven unsatisfactory with me. 



The only plan by which I have 

 been entirely successful is by the use 

 of sticks to hold tlie combs right where 

 I want them. This is an old method, 

 but I will give it as I practice it at the 

 present time. Use two boards the size 

 of the frames, a lot of sticks 1-6 of an 

 inch square and I inch longer than 

 the frame is deep, some small annealed 

 wire (copper is best), about the size of 

 an ordinary needle, a straight edge, a 

 knife and a table. Then we are ready 

 to operate. 



If the combs are to be taken from a 

 hive with bees in, give the bees a 

 smoking, invert the hive, place another 

 of tlie same size over it, and rap on the 

 hive a few minutes, when most of the 

 bees will ascend into the empty hive 

 whicli may then lie set to one side. 

 Then take oft" that side of the hive 

 which is parallel with the combs, cut 

 out the combs, smoking occasionally 

 to drive the remaining bees to the 

 further side. The combs are carefully 

 placed in a box. and taken to a room 

 where the temperature is (ilP or up- 

 ward. On one of the boards above 



mentioned, jilace an ernpt}' frame. 

 Take one of the largest straight combs, 

 and with the straight-edge cut so as to 

 fit snug in tlie frame, then fill out the 

 frame with smaller pieces, keeping in 

 view two verj' important points : 



To have the frame filled solid, so 

 there will be no openings between 

 the pieces, and that there are no 

 crooked pieces put in, no matter how 

 small they are cut to avoitl it. Lay as 

 many sticks on, extending J -inch above 

 tlie top, and J -inch below the bottom 

 of the frame, as are necessary to hold 

 the combs tirnilj' in place. Lay the 

 other board directly over the frame 

 and on the sticks. Invert and remove 

 the first board used. Lay ou as many 

 sticks as were placed on the other .side 

 and even with them. Now with the 

 annealed wire wrap once around the 

 end of the upper stick, then down un- 

 der the lower one and back twice 

 around the upper. The wire may be 

 cut in pieces of right length before 

 using. After the enils on one side are 

 secured, the others are fastened in like 

 manner. 



When combs with brood are trans- 

 ferred, a frame with cloth tacked on is 

 used instead of one of the boards, to 

 prevent the capping of the board from 

 becoming bruised. 



When empty combs, and those with 

 little honey an; transferred before put- 

 ing on the sticks, I lay the other tran.s- 

 fer board on the combs and frame, lay 

 on the floor, and place a 24-t-pound 

 weight on all by stepping thereon. 

 This reduces the comb to J-inch, the 

 thickness of my frame, and the proper 

 thickness of worker combs. The bees 

 will strip off tlie bruised ends of the 

 cells. 



If there are not combs sufficient to 

 fill the hive, a division-board is placed 

 in the vacant sjiace until other combs 

 are secured. The hive is then re- 

 turned, and the bees shaken at the 

 entrance. 



The best time for transferring is 

 when there is the least honey and 

 brood in the hive, and whey the bees 

 are busy and not inclined to rob. 

 Uurino- fruit-bloom and at the com- 

 mencement of white clover harvest are 

 favorable seasons. If the work is done 

 when the bees are idle and liable to 

 rob, it should be late in the evening, 

 or the hive and bees removed to a 

 room during the operation, and until 

 all the loose honey is cleaned up. The 

 sticks are left on until the combs are 

 thoroughly welded together. I have 

 in a few instances left them on a year 

 without apparent harm to the bees. 

 All the new, straight drone-comb not 

 used as guides in sections, I transfer 

 to frames to lie used in hives for ex- 

 tractin"-. I have a set of drone-combs- 

 used for U years. 



