NOVEMBER 1, 1916 



1033 



THE ROCK HONEY OF INDIA 



BY X. TOURNEUR 



Many are the honeys of India; but most 

 .singular of them all is the rock honey of tlie 

 Madras Presidency. It is one of the vari- 

 ous items of the forest products collected 

 in the Satyamangalam Hills and "bulks 

 lai'go in the revenue list. 



Eoek honey is produced by a very large 

 brown bee, and stored in holes and under 

 ledges of rock. Coarse and dark, the wax 

 of it very dark in color, it is in great de- 

 mand among the natives. 



The first season's products are collected 

 in August, when the rocks are dry, and the 

 harvest of the second season as soon as 

 the hot dry weather begins. Thus the dan- 

 ger of slipping off the rocks is kssened 

 very much; but on the whole it is perilous 

 woi'k, often bringing disaster and cleath to 

 the collectors. 



In the Satyamangalam Ranges the work is 

 done b}' natives of the Kurumbar hill tribe. 

 When the projjer season comes for gather- 

 ing the honey a party of from fourteen to 

 fifteen start out up into the wooded ranges 

 which the bees frequent. The expedition 

 always sets out on Monday, which day of 

 the week the superstitious natives look upon 

 as lucky. The party lake with them cocoa- 

 nuts, 'Camphor, plantains, and other offer- 

 ings to their tribal deity, also their imple- 

 ments for gathering the honey, consisting 

 of a long ladder made of fiber with a 

 strong rope of the same material, a bowl 

 made of basketwork smeared over with 

 clay till it is water-tight ; a sharp-pointed 

 staff, and a bundle of torches made of green 

 and dry grasses. Of the party, only two 

 are collectors of honey, the rest being em- 

 ployed to carry goods and chattels, put up 

 sheds, light fires, cook, and to do the odd 

 jobs for the two collecting Kurumbars. 

 These two alone climb the rocks and gatlier 

 the honey, and, invariably, are brothers-in- 

 law. That is, to be more exiDlicit, each 

 man's wife is the sister of the other man, 

 and each Kurumbar is responsible for Die 

 life and safety of the other. 



When the collectors reach a sudtable 

 ledge of rock, which is easily enough pick- 

 ed out, their quick eyes tracing the flight 

 of the busy bees, the rope is attached to 

 the ladder, and tied firmly to a handy tree. 

 The ladder is then thrown otf tJje toj) of tl'o 

 rocky ledge. One of the Kurumbars holds 

 on to it, and the other climbs down the 

 ladder till he finds liimself on a level with 

 the great clusters of honey-combs which arc 

 on the slippery sides of Ihe rock. Arrived 

 there, he puts liis right fo<:t firmly on one 



rung of the ladder, and his left over the 

 rung above till the rung is in the crook of 

 his leg. Thus firmly fixed he swings him- 

 self to and fro, having in one hand a burn- 

 ing torch and in the otlier the pointed staff; 

 and as he swings into the rock he applies 

 the torch to the combs, drives away the 

 bees, and gathers the luscious combs. 



At the end of each day's work the Ku- 

 rumbar climbs up to the summit of tlie 

 rock. The operations go on for several 

 days, the collector having" a singular im- 

 munity from stings. On the last day, 

 when all the honey and wax have been ob- 

 tained, the rope is untied and the ladder 

 dropped doAvn to the bottom. From ten to 

 eleven, cents a pound is given for this honey 

 by the native dealers. 



HONEY IN COMMERCE. 



Another famous honey of India is that 

 which forms a popular article of commerce 

 up in the Him.alayan provinces. In most 

 of the villages of the northern ranges of 

 tlie Himalayas bees are kept, and the honey, 

 vvliether the produce of the wild or the do- 

 mesticated bees, adds to the income of many 

 a native household.' 



It is usually sold in the local bazaars 

 at an eighth of a rupee, or two annas — 

 that is, six cents a pound; and altho not 

 much thicker than syrup, and of a brownish 

 color, it has a flavor equal to the finest 

 honey of Narbonne — the honey par ex- 

 cellence of all Europe, and is, moreover, 

 much less cloying. 



The domesticated bee of these regions is 

 known by the name of " mohru," " moh- 

 ri," or '' mori," according to the particular 

 jDrovince. It is not much more than 

 half tlie size of ours, but is very industrious 

 and mild-tempered, and in this respect 

 gives even more pleasure in Avorkiug witli 

 them than pure Ligurians. Straw hives, 

 with tapering conical roofs of reed, are in 

 use. The fine quality of the honey is 

 ascribed to the most common source of the 

 bee's honey - gathering — the prangos. It 

 is a bushy gi'owth which grows very freely 

 in the Himalayan provinces, and consists of 

 long feathering leaves of dark green, crown- 

 ed by a profusion of large tufts of yellow 

 flowers, which have a rather pleasant aro- 

 matic fragrance, and are covered willi a 

 glistening, viscid, sugary juice that attracts 

 the bees in sueli numbers that the flowers 

 are often blackened by them. 



A TRULY WILD HONEY. 



The wild bee or " bhaonra " of thes3 

 mountainous reeions, and larger tlian our 



