THE AMERICAN BEE JOUKNAL. 



201 



or obliquity of the stem to aid bis ascent, jerk- 

 ing the stilf creeper a few feet higher wlien he 

 found he liad a firm hold for his bare feet. It 

 almost made me giddy to look at him as he rap- 

 idly got up— thirty— forty— fifty feet above the 

 ground ; and I kept -wonderiag how he could 

 possibly mount the next few feet of straight, 

 smootli iruiik. Still, however, he kept on, with as 

 much coolness and apparent certainty as if he 

 were going up a ladder, till he got within ten or 

 fifteen feet of the bees. Then he stopped a mo- 

 ment, and took care to swing the torch (which 

 hung just at his feet) a little towarde those dan- 

 gerous insects, so as to send up the stream of 

 smoke bttweeu him and them. Still goiiig on, 

 in a minute more he brought himself under the 

 limb; and, in a manner quite unintelligible tome, 

 Si-eing that both hands were occui)ied in support- 

 ing himself by the creeper, managed to get upon 



"By this time the bees began to be alarmed, 

 and formed a dense buzzing swarm just over 

 him ; but he brought the torch up closer to him, 

 and cooll}^ brushed away those that settled 

 on .his arms or legs. Then stretching himself 

 along the limb, he crept towards the nearest comb 

 and swung the torch just under it. The moment 

 the smoke touched it, its color changed in a most 

 curious manner from black to white, the myriads 

 of bees tliat had covered it flying ofi'and forming 

 a dense cloud above and around. The man lay 

 at full length aloiig the limb, and brushed ofl' the 

 remaining bees with his hand ; and then, drawing 

 his knife, cut off" the comb at one slice close to the 

 tree, and attaching the thin cord to it, let it clown 

 to his companions below. He was all this time 

 enveloped in a crowd of angry bees, and how he 

 bore their stings so coolly and went on with his 

 work at that giddy height so deliberately was 

 more than I could understand. The bees were 

 not evidently 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 suc- 

 cessfully taken, and furnished the whole party 

 with a luscious feast of Loney and young bees, as 

 well as, a valuable lot of wax. 



" A-fter two of the combs had been let down, 

 the bees became rather more numerous below, 

 flying about wildly and stinging viciously. Sev- 

 eral got about me, and I was soon stung, and 

 liad to run away, beating them off with my net 

 ami capturing them for specimens. Several oi 

 them followed me for at least half a mile, getting 

 into my hair and persecuting me most pertina- 

 ciously, so that I was more astonished than ever 

 at the immunity of the natives. I am inclined 

 to think that slow and deliberate motion, and no 

 attempt to escape, are perhaps the best safeguards. 

 A. bee settling on a passive native probably be- 

 haves 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 impassively, as with- 

 out doing so no man could be a bee-hunter." 



Beeswax is given as one of the chief exports of 

 several of the islands of the Malay archipelago, 

 and I believe it is all produced by the ajjis dorsata. 



His Excellency Joseph William Torrey, Presi- 

 dent of the American Trading Company of Bor- 

 neo, says he never was in a land thatsoabountled 

 in bees. 



Both the black and the Italian bee have 

 been introduced in Australia. I think the 

 upis dorsata does not exist there. I have cor- 

 responded with several persons, hoping to get 

 specimens and infornuxtion ; but have not as yet 

 met with much success. Now that the journey 

 is shortened by the opening of the Suez canal, 

 and our relations with the East rendered more 

 intiaiate, we may soon hope to obtain the apis 

 fafciaia and the ajjis dorsata direct. Had we a 

 few practical apiarists at different points, no de- 

 sire need go long unfulfilled ; but owing to the 

 absence of the right man in the right place, it is 

 now more difficult to import a bee than an ele- 

 phant. "We look to our Bee Journals, now pub- 

 lished in several languages, to spread the much- 

 needed information on the art of packing and 

 transporting bees for long voyages, that our 

 studies and experiments may be extended to 

 every bee that the varieties of climate of our vast 

 country can sustain. 



Ehrick Parmly. 



JS'cw York. 



[Fur tlie Americau Bee Journal.] 



From my Bottle of All Sorts. 



A certain doctor kept a bottle into which he 

 put all the " odds and ends of all the various com- 

 pounds prepared for difierent diseases." This lie 

 called his "bottle of all sorts," and when called 

 to attend a patient whose case he did not fully 

 understand, he would order a dose from this bot- 

 tle, which, lie said, was " sure to hit the case every 

 time." Not knowing what would most interest 

 my brother bee-keepers, I have concluded, like 

 the doctor, to give them a dose from my bottle of 

 all sorts, hoping I may "hit" somebody's case. 



The Triangular Comb Guide. 



It is to be regretted that there are many men 

 among American bee-keepers who will stoop to 

 so base and dastardly an act as to collect from 

 timid bee-k'_'epers money tor the use of the " tri- 

 angular com!) guide," wlien it appears they have 

 no right to such patent or claim. Two or ihree 

 years'ago, when I was at the Michigan State Fair, 

 exhibitfng my hive, K. P. Kidder suddenly ap- 

 peared and commenced to hold forth close beside 

 me. At that time I was not personally acquainted 

 with him, but had frequently heard of the cele- 

 brated H. B. Man— honey bee man, as he at one 

 time styled himself. A gentleman standing by 

 informed me that the person blowing his uumpet 

 so fearfully was no other than K. P. Kidder, and 

 said he, " Kidder claims that you have no right to 

 use the triangular comb guides." I replied, I 

 will see to that Shortly after, Mr. Kidder came 

 to me and told me the same. After a few words 

 had passed between us, I told Mr. Kidder, if he 

 had four or five thousand dollars to spend in test- 

 ing the thing, he had better pitch in at once, for 

 I was prepared to try it on. Such a bold front 

 was more than he had bargained for, and in a 



