THE AMERICAN BEE JOUBNAL 



131 



The Egyptian Bee. 

 Pakt IV. 



HOW I OBTAI3S!ED AND INTRODUCED IT INTO JIY 

 APIAllY. 



As soon a.s I had ascertained the fact that the 

 Egyptian bee had actually reached Germany, I 

 lost no time in putting myself in communication 

 with lierr Vogel, to whom the Berlin Acclim- 

 atization Society had deputed the task of mul- 

 tiplying and disseminating these interesting 

 strangers, and in due course received the follow- 

 ing two letters from him, the first being dated 

 the 2ud July, 1865: 



"Mr "Woodbury: I am very much honored 

 by the charge given me of sending you a fertile 

 Egyptian queen bee. 



"It raaj'' be permitted to me to inform you 

 previously that I will despatch a very fine queen 

 bee with its necessary companions on the loth 

 of July. 



"The transport will be the happiest if the queen 

 bee has only few companions. Therefore, having 

 received this letter, I propose to you depriv- 

 ing a few populous bee-hives of its mother bee, 

 and destroying, after nine days, all mother-cells. 

 This bee-hive resting, deprived of its mother 

 bee, you may make use of it to strengthen the 

 new comers. 



"You wish being informed if the Egyptian 

 bee (Apis fasciata) coupled itself with the north- 

 ern and Italian! Apis fasciata is a constant 

 stereotype variety of Apis mellifica. Its temper is 

 very lively, and its voice higher than that of 

 Apis mellifica. Therefore the virgin queen bees 

 of the Egyptian race flying out choose regularly 

 Egyptian mates. It will be also easier to keep 

 this race genuine than the Italian bee (Apis 

 ligustica). — Your affectionate, addicted bee- 

 friend — F.W. Vogel." 



The second letter was dated the loth July, 

 but did not reach me until the 38th, and an ex- 

 amination of the Prussian post-mark showed 

 that it was not posted in Germany until the 25th. 

 It heralded the approach of an Egyptian queen 

 in the following terms : 



"Mr. Woobury : You receive adjoined a 

 fertile Egyptian mother bee. The Egyptian 

 are covered with fair hair, and have a yellowish 

 shield on the breast-plate. 



"Is Avinter coming on, I advise to put the 

 Egyptian bee-hive into a quite dark room 

 where they cannot freeze to death; in such 

 room the bee-races winter generally the best. 



"If the queen bee arrives dead, against all my 

 expectations, it may be permitted to me to send 

 you another which is not to be paid. — Your 

 affectionate, devoted bee-friend — F. W. Vogel. " 



The result of this correspondence was, that on 

 the 30th of July I received a somewhat weighty 

 deal box, 13 inches long by 9^ wide, and 8]- inches 

 deep, which, in addition to my address, was or- 

 namented with sundry printed labels, one of 

 which declared it to be " aus Zechin," and 

 another " par Ostende." There was also in 

 one corner a rough pen-and-ink sketch of a 

 drinking-glass, meant, I suppose, to convey 

 the intimation Lo railway porters and all whom 

 it miglit concern, that the couients of the box 



were of a like brittle character, and under this 

 cartoon, for the edification of German as well 

 as of English readers, appeared in three lines, 

 thus — 



' ' MIT SOKSPALT ! 



" WITH CARES ! 



"EGYPTIAN BEE !" 



The two first lines being likewise repeated on 

 the three remaining sides of the rather large 

 label which concealed fully two-thirds of the 

 box cover. 



On applying my ear to the wire cloth which 

 coveretl an aperture for ventilation, I was 

 somewhat concerned at finding all within as 

 still as death, nor could I by tapping the sides 

 of the box elicit the slightest response from the 

 little prisoners, whose answering hum is usually 

 so prompt and ready under such circumstances. 

 It Avas therefore with no little trepidation and 

 misgiving that I sought for tools and set to 

 work to prise off the well-secured cover, which, 

 like the box itself, was made of wood nearly 

 an inch in thickness, the latter being doved- 

 tailed together, and of such strength as might 

 well have fitted it for the conveyance of bullion 

 from the Antipodes, instead of merely the safe 

 custody of a few hundred bees. On raising 

 the lid a small cluster adhered to it, having ap- 

 parently removed' themselves as far as possible 

 from a large square piece of dark-colored 

 honeycomb, out of all proportion to their wants, 

 a portion of the contents of which having es- 

 caped had so clogged and soiled the unfortunate 

 little prisoners, that fcAV indeed were able to 

 use their wings. On separating and carefully 

 examining this cluster, I found it to consist of 

 worker bees so similar to Ligurians that I could 

 not at that time detect the slightest difference, 

 two or three small but very handsome drones, 

 the whole being in a sad plight, and what 

 seemed to me to be a diminutive Ligurian queen 

 in nearly as bad a case as the rest. This cer- 

 tainly appeared extremely small change for my 

 outlay, and it was with no very pleasant feel- 

 ings or agreeable anticipations that I proceeded 

 to make the necessary attempt at placing my 

 forlorn Semiramis at the head of a small lot of 

 Italians, which, having themselves failed in the 

 attempt to raise a queen, appeared more likely 

 than any others to tender their allegiance to an 

 alien monarch. I, of course, took Ihe precau- 

 tion of presenting to them this aspirant to the 

 vacant throne in a queen-cage, through the 

 bars of which her future subjects were at liberty 

 to make her acquaintance, and well was it 

 that I did so, for dire Avas the onslaught made 

 upon her bedraggled attendants which I added 

 to the Ligurians at the same time. "Italian 

 Unity!" or Avhatever may be its apian equiva- 

 lent, was at once vociferously Ijuzzed forth, 

 and perseveringly and relentlessly reiterated, 

 as one by one tlie unhappy Egyptians Avere 

 dragged out, untill their expulsion was at last 

 as absolutely complete as that of their fellow- 

 Africans, the Moors, from Spain by tlie Avarlike 

 Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile. 



This Avas in truth an unpromising commence- 

 ment, but I could do nothing to calm the strife 

 AA'hich continued nearly until the sun went 



