98 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



April, 



When writing these advertisers please 

 do not fail to say that you saw the 

 advertisement in the American Bee- 

 Keeper. 



If there are any reliable breeders 

 of queens not already represented in 

 the Directory, they should not delay 

 making application for space. The 

 season for busines is at hand. (H.) 



APIS DORSATA. 



The following about the giant bee 

 of India, Apis dorsata, is taken from 

 the Entomologist's Record of Lon- 

 don, Eng., and was written by Mr. R. 

 Hamlyn-Harris, R. F, S. etc. We 

 have condensed the matter, giving on- 

 ly the most interesting points. 



The reports of the India Office 

 agreed that A. dorsata, mentioned 

 generally under native names, could 

 not be domesticated on account of its 

 intractable character. The chief points 

 noted are: i. It is said to be exceed- 

 ingly vicious, often attacking man or 

 beast on the smallest provocation. 2. 

 It preserves the same habits and ap- 

 pearance where ever its ihabitat. 3. 

 It has never been known to build its 

 nest under shelter but mostly on iso- 

 lated trees or overhanging rocks. 4. 

 After the honey season the bees will 

 desert their nests and often travel for 

 long periods and great distances, even 

 crossing such mountain chains as the 

 Nilgherris in their course. 5. They 

 build single combs. 6. And approach 

 them from north, south, east or west. 

 7. They rarely remain in one locality 

 for more than three weeks, departing 

 as flowers become scarcer. 



Near Darjeeling (Eastern Himalay- 

 as) they are called Cargoos and are 

 an object of fear and dislike. They 

 are said to travel as much as 100 

 miles before settling. Are inclined to 

 fly somewhat clumsily and to visit 

 flowers somewhat listlessly. Their 

 value for crossing with A. millifica is 



questioned because no crosses have 

 been found between A. dorsata and 

 A. indica, and similar bees in India. 

 One writer is quoted as having had 

 seven hives or colonies fed and fixed 

 for the winter but that they left in 

 the spring, leaving by twenties and 

 thirties, each bunch having a queen. 

 Clipping queens proved fatal. (M.) 



BOOMING BEE CULTURE. 



A lot of tommyrot is going the 

 rounds of the press on bee-keeping as 

 a business, its profits, how to start, 

 etc., etc. One writer who belches 

 words as Vesuvius does smoke, points 

 to the wonderful success of a certain 

 man but he omitted to state that the 

 final balance sheet showed him to be 

 bankrupt to the tune of many thou- 

 sands of dollars. It is almost need- 

 less to state that the articles are used 

 in a manner that will entice people to 

 enter the business or induce those al- 

 ready keeping bees to increase their 

 present plant — for the benefit of the 

 supply men, of course. 



If a man feels that he must make 

 bee-keeping a business let him go 

 learn it from the bottom up just as he 

 would any other business, by work- 

 ing for somebody already in it. To 

 be sure some persons can teach them- 

 selves but that is an exceedingly slow 

 and costly process. (M). 



JUGGLING THE TRADE. 



In some quarters we note an in- 

 creased bid price for wax. Now 

 watch and see if you shortly find an 

 increase in the price of foundation 

 and at the same time bear, in mind 

 that foundation makers do not wait 

 until the eleventh hour to make their 

 foundation. 



The bid price to which we refer is 

 thirty cents delivered at the purchas- 

 ers place of business. At the time the 

 above bid was published the price in 



