14: 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[July, 



now drove in a peg very firmly at about three 

 feet from the ground, and bringing one of the 

 •long bamboos, stood it upright close to the tree, 

 and bound it firmly to the first tw^o pegs by 

 means of the bark cord and small notches near 

 the head of each peg. One of the Dyaks now 

 stood on the first peg and drove in a third about 

 level with his face, to which he tied the bamboo 

 in the same way, and then mounted another 

 stej:), standing on one foot and holding by the 

 bamboo immediately al)ove him, while he drove 

 in the next one. In this marmer he ascended 

 about twenty feet, when the upright bamboo be- 

 coming thin, another was handed up by his com- 

 panion, and this was joined on by tying both 

 bamboos to three or four of the pegs. When this 

 was also nearly ended, a third was added, and 

 shortly after the lowest branch of the tree was 

 reached, along which the young Dyak scrambled 

 and soon sent the misas headlong down. I was 

 exceedingly struck by the ingenuity of this mode 

 of climbing, and the admirable manner in which 

 the peculiar properties of the bamboo were made 

 •available. The ladder itself was perfectly safe, 

 since if any one peg were loose or faulty, and 

 gave way, the strain would be thrown on several 

 others above and below it. I now understood 

 the use of the line of bamboo pegs sticking in 

 trees, which I had often seen and wondered for 

 what purpose they could have been put there.'" 

 The honey bee of Borneo very generally hangs 

 its combs under the branches of the tappan, 

 a tree which towers above all others in the 

 forest, and whose cylindical trunk often rises 

 one hundred feet without a branch. The Dyaks 

 climb these lofty trees at night, building up 

 their bamboo ladder as they go, and bringing 

 down gigantic honey-combs. These furnish 

 them with a delicious feast of honey and young 

 bees, beside the wax which they sell to tlie tra- 

 ders and with the proceeds buy the much covet- 

 brass wire earings, and gold-edge handkerchiefs 

 with which they love to decorate themselves. 

 In ascending durion and other fruit-trees, which 

 branch off from forty to fifty feet from the 

 ground, I have seen them use the bamboo pegs 

 only, without the upright bamboo which renders 

 them so much more secure." 



In Celebes, he writes, "flies and bees are 

 abundant, and of these I daily obtained new and 

 interesting species." He also mentions finding- 

 bees on many of the islands, which I presume 

 were Apis dovsata, as he says nothing to the con- 

 trary. 



Those who have experienced considerable ex- 

 citement in handling queens of rare beauty, will 

 appi'eciate the following, from the same author: 



" About the beginning of January I found a 

 beautiful shrub with lai'ge white leafy bracts and 

 yellow fiowers, a species of Trusscenda, and saw 

 one of these noble insects (a, new species of Or- 

 nithoptera or bird-winged butterfly^ hovering 

 over it. I found it to be as I had expected a 

 perfectly new and most magnificent species, and 

 one of the most gorgeously colored butterflies in 

 the world. Fine specimens of the male ai'e 

 more than seven inches across the wings, which 

 are velvety black and fiery orange, the latter 

 color replacing the green of the allied species. 

 The beauty and brilliancy of this insect are in- 



describable, and none but a naturalist can un- 

 derstand the intense excitement I experienced 

 when I at length captured it. On taking it out 

 of my net and opening its glorious wings, my 

 heart began to beat violently, the blood rushed 

 to my head, and I felt much more like fainting 

 than I have done when in the apprehension of 

 immediate death. I had a headache the rest of 

 the day, so great was the excitement produced 

 by what will appear to most people a very 

 inadequate cause. It is true that I have seen 

 similar insects in cabinets at home ; but it is 

 quite another thing to capture such oneself, to 

 feel it struggling between ones' fingers, and 

 gaze upon its fresh and living beauty— a bright 

 gem shining out amid the silent gloom of a dark 

 and tangled forest. The village of Dobo held, 

 that evening, at least one contented man." 



And now I fear our matter-of-fact men with 

 no poetry in their nature, will have their pa- 

 tience exhausted, and cry for something more 

 practical about Apis dorsata. But our knowl- 

 edge of this species of the honey bee is as yet too 

 limited to satisfy their curiosity. I will however 

 endeavor to make out a good case for them, and 

 think there may be some extenuating circum- 

 stances in their favor, fully justifying their fero- 

 city in the instances given by Mr. Woodbury. 



E. P. 



New York. 



[For the AmericaQ Bee Jouraal.] 



Novice and Honey. 



Mr. Editor : — We are now, at this date, (June 

 11,) revelling in a flood of sweets, the product of 

 the united efforts of fifty strong stocks of Italians 

 and hybrids. 



We have just now completed oiir first thousand 

 pounds (1,000 lbs.). We put it up mostly in 

 small wide mouthed jars, holding one pound 

 each, which retail readily at twenty-five cents, 

 and are j ust the thing when a little is wanted 

 for sickness. AVe get the jars, pound and two 

 pound, from Messrs. Fahnestock, Fortune & Co., 

 Pittsburgh, Pa. By taking a quantity the ex- 

 pense is but a trifle. A very neat gummed label 

 is made by Messrs. Seaton & Walton, Salem, 

 Ohio, at a price far below what ordinary i^rinters 

 would charge for labels without gumming. Our 

 fifty stocks average about four pounds each on 

 a fine day, so that you see that two hundred 

 pounds per day keeps us pretty busy. 



We have a great many visitors, as our way of 

 managing bees is quite a ' ' sensation. ' ' We have 

 many times thought that we should like to have 

 them to come all at once, and then we should 

 not have to explain and answer questions so 

 many times over. 



And just here, Mr. Editor, permit me to say, 

 although it may seem harsh and unkind, that it 

 is quite impracticable for me to answer all the 

 letters of inquiry received, sometimes a half 

 dozen a day, all asking the same thing, perhaps, 

 and the replies would require a long letter to 

 each. Would not the queries be much better 

 asked through the Journal ? Any such inquiries 

 we will answer in full to the best of our ability. 



And now, Mr. Editor, we are going to invite 



