86 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



May 



seen working on it, are easily followed 

 up or lined to their habitation. Mr. H. 

 L. Chase, of Canandai^a, N. Y., has 

 practiced this same method of bee-hunt- 

 ing, for years, and has been very suc- 

 cessful. He says bees never go far 

 from their hive for water, and when he 

 finds bees taking water, he is sure of 

 them. 



candles and comb foundation. 

 Central Blatt. 



-From 



The natives of Kalahari not only eat 

 the honey, but also the brood; and they 

 understand the preparation of an in- 

 toxicating drink from the honey, some- 

 what as the tribes in Germany did near- 

 ly 2,000 years ago. 



ITALY. 



A bee-keeper near Pravenna, had an 

 apiary of 57 colonies to begin the sea- 

 son with. By natural swarming he had 

 increased on June 15 his 57 to 90 colo- 

 nies, and taken 3,500 pounds of honey. 

 A second swarming period occurred 

 during July, and when the season came 

 to a close he had 120 colonies, all of 

 which had provided themselves with 

 sufficient stores for winter, and another 

 2000 pounds surplus could be taken; 

 making a total of about S.soo pounds, 

 or very nearly 100 pounds per colony, 

 spring count- 



JAPAN. 



Japan has a peculiar kind of tree, 

 which -"roduces vegetable wax. The 

 name of the tree is Hajemaki, and re- 

 sembles our wild apple tree in outward 

 appearance. During October the tree 

 sheds its leaves and its twigs adorn 

 themselves with a berry-like fruit, 

 which is gathered and dried. These 

 berries are afterwards subjected to 

 steaming and pressure; thus a wax is 

 extracted which is used in Germany and 

 other countries in the manufacture of 



AFRICA. 



Northern Africa also has its bee jour- 

 nal. Its name is Nammla (Bee), Vro- 

 qua, traveling in Algiers, discovered a 

 large apiary of 400 hives, kept by an 

 Arab- The hives he used exclusively, 

 were made of cork and seemed to an- 

 swer the purpose well. — Bienenvater, 

 Vienna. 



GUADALOUPE. 



The planters on Guadaloupe, one of 

 the lesser Antilles, keep bees principal- 

 ly to increase fruit-setting of their co- 

 coa and cofTee trees. It has been ascer- 

 tained without any question that wher- 

 ever extensive apiaries are located, the 

 surrounding plantations give much 

 higher yields in fruit than other planta- 

 tions where no bees are kept. It is not 

 very long ago that the European bee 

 was imported into Guadaloupe, but the 

 climate is very congenial and bees in- 

 crease fast and do well. There is also 

 a stingless bee found on the island. 

 They live in caves and hollow trees, but 

 are not numerous. They also live in 

 constant warfare with their European 

 sisters- They do not build regular 

 combs, but store their honey in little 

 tubes of dark wax. The honey is also 

 of dark color, but of good flavor. No 

 attempt has been made to domesticate 

 this bee. 



SWITZERLAND. 



Switzerland has now 242,411 colonies 

 of bees. This is 5 per cent, less than in 

 1896. It seems in many other countries 

 bees have been on the decrease, Amer- 

 ica included. 



F. Greiner. 



