curved bits of metal taken from the per- 

 fumed tresses of my idol ! " poet, leave 

 me ! 



Well, here you have what I, through ex- 

 perience, have found the best for all cir- 

 cumstances. Dr. Reissek. 



ig^In correction of article in July 

 number of Journal entitled "Ameri- 

 can Honey in England," we have re- 

 ceived the following note from Mr. W. 



M. Hoge : 



London, June 25, 1879. 

 The article sent me regarding the in- 

 troduction of honey into Windsor Castle, 

 and which you intend shall come out in 

 the July number of the American Bee 

 Journal, errs in this, that it was Mr. Jack- 

 son, member of the British Bee-Keepers' 

 Convention, who wanted the 3 crates of 

 honey for examination, and not the British 

 government. Please alter that part and 

 oblige. 



Timorese Honey Hunters. 



I once saw the natives take a bee's nest, 

 and a very interesting sight it was. In the 

 valley where 1 used to collect insects I one 

 day saw three or four Timorese men and 

 boys under a high tree, and looking up saw, 

 on a very lofty, horizontal branch, three 

 large bee-combs. The tree was straight 

 and smooth-barked, and without a branch, 

 till at 70 or SO feet from the ground it gave 

 out the limb which the bees had chosen for 

 their home. As the men were evidently 

 looking after the bees, I waited to watch 

 their operations. One of them first pro- 

 duced a long piece of wood, apparently the 

 stem of a small tree or creeper, which he 

 had brought with him, and began splitting 

 it through in several directions, which 

 showed that it was very tough and stringy. 



He then wrapped it in palm-leaves, which 

 were secured by twisting a slender creeper 

 around them. He then fastened his cloth 

 lightly around his loins, and, producing an- 

 other cloth, wrapped it around his head, 

 neck and body and tied it firmly round his 

 neck, leaving his face, arms and legs com- 

 pletely bare. Slung to his girdle he carried 

 a long, thin coil of cord ; and while he had 

 been making preparations, one of his com- 

 panions had cut a strong creeper or bush 

 rose, 8 or 10 yards long, to one end of which 

 the wood torch was fastened and lighted at 

 the bottom, emitting a steady stream of 

 smoke. Just above the torch, a chopping 

 knife was fastened by a short cord. 



The bee-hunter now took hold of the 

 brush-rope just above the torch and passed 

 the other end round the trunk of the tree, 

 holding one end in each hand. Jerkingitup 

 the tree a little above his head, he set his 

 foot against the trunk, and leaning back, 

 began walking up it. It was wonderful to 

 see the skill with which he took advantage 

 of the slightest irregularities of the bark or 

 obliquity of the stem to aid his ascent, 

 jerking the stiff creeper a few feet higher 



when he had found a firm hold for his bare 

 feet. It almost made me giddy to look at 

 him as he rapidly got up— 30, 40, 50 feet 

 above the ground,— and I kept wondering 

 how he could possibly mount the next few 

 feet of straight, smooth trunk. Still, how- 

 ever, he kept on with much coolness and ap- 

 parent certainty, as if he were going up a 

 ladder, till he got within 10 or 15 feet of the 

 bees. Then he stopped a moment and took 

 care to swing the torch — which hung just at 

 his feet— a little toward these dangerous in- 

 sects, so as to send up the stream of smoke 

 between him and them. Still going on, in a 

 minute more he brought himself under the 

 limb, and, in a manner quite unintelligible 

 to me, seeing that both his hands were oc- 

 cupied in supporting himself by the creeper, 

 managed to get upon it. 



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 coolly brushed away 

 those that settled on his arms and legs. 

 Then stretching himself along the limb, he 

 crept toward the nearest comb and swung 

 the torch just under. The moment the 

 smoke touched it, its color changed in a 

 most curious manner from black to white, 

 the myriads of bees that had covered it fly- 

 ing off and forming a dense cloud above and 

 around. The man then lay at full length 

 along the limb and brushed off the remain- 

 ing 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 down to his companions below, 

 lie was all this time enveloped in a cloud of 

 angry bees, and how he bore their stings so 

 coolly and went on with his work at that 

 height so deliberately, was more than I 

 could understand. The bees were evidently 

 not stupified by the smoke or driven far 

 away 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 successfully taken, and furnished the 

 whole party with a delicious feast of honey 

 and young bees, as well as a valuable lot of 

 wax. 



After two of the combs had been let 

 down, the bees became rather numerous 

 below, flying about wildly and stinging vic- 

 iously. Several got about me and I was 

 soon stung, and had to run away, beating 

 them off with my net and capturing them 

 for specimens. Several of them followed 

 me for at least half a mile, being in my 

 hair and persecuting me most pertina- 

 ciously, so that I was more astonished than 

 ever at the immunity of the natives. lam 

 inclined to think that slow and deliberate 

 motion and no attempt to escape are per- 

 haps the best safeguards. A bee sitting on 

 a passive native probably behaves as it 

 would on a tree or inanimate substance, 

 which it does not attempt to sting. Still 

 they must often suffer, but they are used to 

 it.— Exchange. 



Higr Lately, on ;i farm in Boonsville, 

 O., a congress of bees assembled, thirty 

 swarms having settled on one apple tree. 

 — Exchange. 



