APID-E — BEES. 203 



crops were more abundant than those of his neighbors, 

 produced as his witnesses some superior implements of 

 husbandry, and well fed oxen, and pointing to them said : 

 " These. Romans ! are mv instruments of witchcraft : but I 

 cannot show you my toil, my perseverance, and my anxious 

 cares." "So," says Wildman. -may I say. These, Britons I 

 are my instruments of witchcraft: but I cannot show you 

 my hours of attention to this subject, ray anxiety and care 

 for these useful insects; nor can I communicate to you my 

 experience acquired during a course of years. "- 



Butler mentions two instances where the stings of Bees 

 have been fatal to -'cattaile": 



"A horse," he informs us. "in the heate of the day look- 

 ino: over a hedge, on the other side whereof was a staule of 

 Bees, while hee stood nodding with his head, as his manner 

 is, because of the flies, the Bees fell vpon him and killed 

 him. Likewise I heard of a teeme that stretching against 

 a hedge overthrew a staule on the other side, and so two of 

 the horses were stung to death. '*- 



Mungo Park and his party were twice seriously attacked 

 by large swarms of Bees. The first attack is mentioned in 

 the account of his first journey; the second in the account 

 of his second. The latter singular accident befell them in 

 1805. and is thus narrated in his journal : The coffle had 

 baited at a creek, and the asses had just been unloaded, 

 when some of his guide Isaaca's people, being in search of 

 honey, unfortunately disturbed a large swarm of Bees near 

 their resting-place. The Bees came out in immense cum- 

 bers, and attacked men and beasts at the same time. Luck- 

 ily, most of the asses were loose, and galloped up the val- 

 ley ; but the horses and people were very much stung, and 

 obliged to scamper off in all directions. The fire which had 

 been kindled for cooking, being deserted, spread, and set fire 

 to the bamboos, and the baggage had like to have been 

 burned. In fact, for half an hour the Bees seemed to have 

 completely put an end to the journey. In the evening when 

 they became less troublesome, and the cattle could l3c col- 

 lected, it was found that many of them were very much 

 stung, and swollen about the head. Three asses were miss- 

 ing ; one died in the course of the evening, and one next 



1 Treatise on Bees, 1769. Im. Jli-^c, p. 32t>-l. 

 ^ Fern. Monarchic, ch i. 39. 



