1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



83 



would have to admit that the bee- 

 keeper in whose charge they were left, 

 was far from being a progressive, 

 wide-awake or well-informed bee- 

 master. Considering that these pre- 

 cious colonies had just withstood a 

 sea-voyage of over 4,000 miles, most 

 of the way in the torrid zone, it will 

 not seem wonderful that their behav- 

 ior on a strange shore — one ill-adapt- 

 ed to them and where the variety of 

 nectar-producing plants is extremely 

 limited, might not have been all that 

 their possessors might have desired — 

 to say nothing of what an on-looker 

 with a critical eye as to their manage- 

 ment might find to bring up against 

 them. Mr. Baldensperger's observa- 

 tion of these could give him little, if 

 any, real basis on which to form a 

 correct opinion regarding them in 

 their native laud, nor what they 

 might do under favorable conditions 

 in some other country. 



You will ask : '• What might we 

 reasonably expect of these bees in 

 this country ? I reply : 1st. If intro- 

 duced into the sub-tropical portions 

 of our country I feel certain Aipis 

 dorsata would establish itself there and 

 thrive, that it would be no detriment 

 to the settlement or the agricultural 

 interests of those regions, and would 

 furnish an annual supply of honey 

 and wax which in the aggregate would 

 in the course of a few years cover the 

 expense of its introduction. 2nd. 

 What it would do under cultivation 

 in other parts of our country I do not 

 know, nor do I believe it is possible 

 for any person theoretically to give 

 an opinion on this point which is 

 worth a fig. Guessing is cheap. I 

 might employ that method with full 

 better data to base it upon than the 



others who have used it, but I prefer 

 to limit myself to a statement of what 

 I know to be facts or have some good 

 reason to suppose is true. 3d. Al- 

 though these bees have been decried 

 as perfect fiends I know I can handle 

 them with perfect ease. 4th. They 

 are very tenacious of life — long-lived. 

 5th. They frequently live, I am aware, 

 several thousand feet above the sea 

 level, where the climate is cool. But 

 what temperature they will with- 

 stand or whether they will cluster in 

 winter like our hive- bees and main- 

 tain the proper warmth of the brood- 

 nest while it is cold outside, I cannot 

 say positively. 6th. I know they 

 gather quantities of fine honey and 

 produce excellent wax, and in coun- 

 tries where they exist in the wild 

 state these products derived from 

 Apis dorsata are articles of commerce, 

 the wax from this source being an 

 important one. 



Some one has stated that 1 thought 

 Apis dorsata could be crossed with our 

 hive-bees. But no one can point out 

 where I said it nor show it over my 

 name. I have, however, stated that, 

 considering the fact that the drones 

 of Apis dorsata are about the same 

 size as our own, it is possible they would 

 mate and produce offspring. But 

 that does not in the least imply that I 

 think they would do so. And the fact is 

 I consider it extremely doubtful, — 

 another case where only careful ex- 

 periment will decide. Distinct species 

 of animals do cross, and occasional 

 instances have been noted where the 

 offspring has proved fertile. The 

 drones of Apis dorsata resemble very 

 much those of Apis niellifica in size 

 and general appearance, which argues 

 in favor of their crossing, but their 



