110 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



acquaintance. I had carried an antidote with 

 me, and as soon as I could get the cork out of 

 the bottle, I put a good drop of ammonia well 

 saturated with opium, on the place where the 

 sting was taken out, and that soon gave me re- 

 lief. I soon afterwards found that the honey 

 collected by this large kind of bee is very coarse 

 and often unwholesome. My readers perhaps 

 will cry, Sour Grapes ! Honor bright, however ; 

 what 1 say is correct. 



The domesticated honey bee was always a 

 great fiivourite with me at home, and indeed 

 with my father and mother before me. I re- 

 member how often I used to get stung by them 

 in our garden, when as a small boy I would dis- 

 obey orders, and wilfully go to the hive and 

 watch the little creatures, as they came home 

 with tlieir legs laden with little pellets of brown, 

 green, and yellow pollen, which my mother told 

 me was honey, but which I found when I caught 

 one was not sweet at all, and therefore could not 

 be honey — for which experiment I got a caning. 

 I remember also one cold frosty night, as I got 

 into the chimney corner, how all the household 

 was thrown into confusion by some one rushing 

 into the room, saying that there were thieves 

 about, for that they had heard the rustling of 

 their steps in the stubble field and behind the 

 house. There was at once a careful listening by 

 all who were bold enough to venture out of doors; 

 but all was quiet, not a footstep not the least 

 rustling was to be heard even in the stubble field. 

 My fatlier, however, thought he would make 

 sure by walking round the grounds, and as he 

 went into the garden, he thought in the starlight 

 things did not look all serene about the bee-stall; 

 and sure enough when he walked up to it, there 

 was the heaviest hive out of the five carried oif. 

 To follow the rogue or rogues on the way to the 

 town was the resolution of all in an instant. But 

 before they had gone half a mile from the farm- 

 house, a man coming from the town assured 

 them that he had met no one since leaving the 

 town, and they all returned to the liouse. The 

 search was recommenced the next day, and my 

 father hit on the idea of going through the town, 

 and looking after the contents of his Jiivc, which 

 he shrewdly conjectured would be there in some 

 window exposed for sale. He returned home 

 full of joy, for he had found his honey — he knew 

 it was his — there could not be another such a 

 hive, it must be his, the comb was two years ;ind 

 a half old, almost as black as ink, and the honey 

 the best in the world. But the grocer in whose 

 window it was exposed for sale refused to give it 

 up — he had bought it. He did not know the per- 

 son he had bought it of, but he had to come to 

 his shop again the next night, which was Satur- 

 day, and if my f;ither would come and wait in- 

 side, he would let him see who he was. All was 

 arranged — and what a rise ! The man was the 

 very man that returning from the town, told my 

 father he had met no one since leaving the town. 

 The rest may be imagined. Nothing could be 

 done. The other four hives, however, were at 

 once chained down to their blocks. 



I must have been about three years old Avhen 

 these circumstances occurred, and a big boy 

 working on the farm put me up to a way of mak- 

 ing experiments far more remunerative than the 



unloading of the little creatures laden with pol- 

 len. He showed me how to hunt out the humble 

 bee, and to rob its nest. The plan was to take a 

 bough of hazel, and thrash the poor bees to 

 death, then pulling the poor creatures asunder at 

 the shoulder, pick out the houey-bag, which then 

 lay exposed. There was no amusement in this, 

 and I never tried it twice. 



And now to return to my India tale. As soon 

 as I saw my error in hoping to domesticate the 

 large saurung, I was fortunate enough to find a 

 hive of the true honey bee — like the <me at home- 

 located jn a hollow mangoe tree in my compound. 

 In my ignorance of the Indian bee, I concluded 

 it was the same in its habits as our home bee, 

 and therefore I prepared a box large enough to 

 hold the bees of an Engli.sh hive. The next 

 thing to be done was to get them out of the tree. 

 No one would help me, for all were afraid of the 

 sting. With a good chisel and a hammer I soon 

 managed to open a way into the hive, but while 

 I was doing this the inmates had been singing 

 excelsior^ and had marched a full arm's length 

 further up the tree. I took out all the combs, 

 and then putting my hand up the tree as far as 

 my arm could reach, I took out a handful of 

 bees, and put them with the comb into the box I 

 had prepared ; but I was obliged to give this up, 

 for as fast as I put the bees into the box they 

 fiew out again. I therefore yielded to necessity, 

 and gave up that plan of proceeding. I then 

 filled up the hole in the tree, as far as I could, 

 with clay, and fixing my box up upon the tree, 

 made such arrangements that the bees could only 

 get in and out by passing through ray box. I 

 hoped by this means to get them into the box 

 with their own comb full of young ones. I was 

 disappointed however, for at five o'clock the 

 next morning they had all collected outside my 

 box, and were evidently intending to emigrate as 

 soon as their arrangements were matured. I 

 managed to be beforehand with them, for I at 

 once took a basket and whipped them all into it, 

 by the aid of a grey goose-quill, and having got 

 them there, I put a cloth over it, and kept them 

 prisoners till the next morning. They showed 

 their displeasure with my arrangements by be- 

 ginning to fly out as soon as I opened their prison 

 basket. I now caught sight of the queen, and 

 picking her out, clipped ner wings with a pair of 

 scissors. Knowing that the hive was now at my 

 mercy, I put them into a large glass dish-cover, 

 such as is used for protecting cakes and such 

 things. A small piece of new comb was fixed 

 in it.-^ proper position, and another day in the 

 dark was to produce great results. It did so, for 

 the next morning on opening the covering I saw 

 that the workers had repaired the comb where it 

 had been injured, and the queen had laid a few 

 eggs, so that I felt quite sure all would now be 

 well. 



The colony had become very small. I do not 

 think there could be more than an ounce of bees 

 all together. Bees are a very delicate people, 

 and the least extra trouble or exertion kills them 

 by hundreds. But small as the colony had be- 

 come, for six days it was very quiet and prosper- 

 ous, and they had become so accustomed to my 

 investigations that I could take away the glass 

 cover altogether, and the queen herself did not 



