1881. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



221 



great risk, be gotten at; we crept 

 into the cleft or the great rock, as- 

 cended a slanting pole 80 feet, then 

 built a perpendicular ladder of poles 

 and ratans 50 feet ap the face of the 

 rock, after which, hand-over-haiul, we 

 went up about ;!() feet of very steep 

 rock, perfectly bare and solid, our only 

 hold being our bare feet ami a single 

 ratan attached to a boulder above. 

 Once up here, we could go within 20 

 feet, along the ledge, to the place 

 where most of the bees were located. 

 I had pat on my shoes, but the jar of 

 the rocks made the bees angry, and I 

 removed the shoes. I made the ex- 

 amination in the day-time, and at 

 night we were to take the bees. 



The men considered it so dangerous 

 for me, that it was only by insisting 

 upon it that 1 succeeded in accom- 

 panying them. I had little faith that 

 they would get me the bees in good 

 shape, as they asserted they would. 

 In a fearful, blinding, thunder-storm 

 these natives let one of their number 

 down, by means of a rope, a very 

 steep decline some 30 to 40 feet, where 

 he slipped a sack over the comb and 

 bees and cut the former between the 

 honey and brood ; then he cut the 

 honey from the rock and came up 

 with his sack of broken comb and 

 bees, lie had a torch, and I suppose 

 made such use of it as to prevent % 

 of the bees from getting into the sack 

 alive. Of course I protested, and to 

 satisfy me they motioned that I should 

 go up next time. 



I followed them, and, behold, we 

 went by a passage that I had not found 

 before, right through the center of 

 the great rock which rested upon the 

 immense mountain-like block up 

 whose side we had climbed. It was 

 a most tortuous and difficult passage, 

 but at last we emerged at the top and 

 found ourselves upon a rock about 10 

 or 15 feet square, at the top. In a lis- 

 sure, roofed by a small rock, and into 

 which I could step, since it was, in 

 fact, a smaller cave, was a colony of 

 the great bees. With smoke I cleared 

 the bees away a little and began tit- 

 ting the combs into a box which we 

 had hauled up with a rope. There 

 were some 40 or 50 lbs. of very line 

 honey. I had a box which would hold 

 about a bushel and a half, but after 

 fitting 3 combs of brood and honey, 

 and putting in about 3 a of the bees, I 

 was obliged to leave the rest to the na- 

 tives. They feasted themselves upon 

 honey and sealed brood, or, in fact, 

 brood in any stage was a choice bit 

 for them. The rocks were wet and 

 slippery, so that it required great care 

 in letting down the box of bees, as 

 well as in moving about. 



Thus, at midnight upon this great 

 rock more than a hundred feet up in 

 the air, with the moon and stars look- 

 ing down upon us and the clouds be- 

 low us, with 4 wild Cingalese hunters 

 as my companions, their tawny skins 

 invisible except where a single cloth, 

 the size of a pocket handkerchief, was 

 wound about them, and far from civi 

 lization.in a dense ebony forest, I got 

 the bees I now have with me. It was 

 not a very safe journey down the rock 

 so slippery with the fallen rain, but it 

 had to be made. I breathed freer 

 when my feet were again on the 

 ground below. We camped under the 

 edge of the rock and in the morning 

 started for the village, where we had 

 left some things. The bees were car- 

 ried by men some 13 miles, and then 

 brought in a 2-wheeled ox-cart 16 

 miles, thence by coach 12 miles, and 

 by rail 50 miles. 



I made many excursions, but found 

 only one other colony of Apis dorsata. 

 While getting this from a tall tree on 

 a steep declivity, I got soaking wet, 

 and had 4 or Smiles to walk in the 

 night air. Then I do not think that 

 the water was very good. ' 



There were many sick with fever, 

 and this was one. of the very bad dis- 

 tricts. Notwithstanding the greatest 

 precautions, I was soon down with 

 the fever — the jungle malarial fever 

 of Kurunegalla. There was no medi- 

 cal aid, and I grew worse ; at last, in 

 desperation, 1 walked several miles 

 through the jungle and went 9 or 10 



in an ox-cart to where I could get 

 some medicine, then I went by coach 

 and sail to Colombo, where I was well 

 cared for by the editor of the paper 

 for which I had written some articles, 

 During the last 10 days of my stay in 

 Ceylon I suffered intensely— more 

 than in all my life before. At last, 

 being so weak I could hardly stand, I 

 got on tins steamer. I have been 

 gaining strength since then, having 

 had no fever, so now I feel quite like 

 myself, though the heat is fearful. 



You can well imagine that, sick 

 upon my bed for nearly a week before 

 leaving, I could do little or nothing to 

 prepare the bees for shipment, and 

 just when I had learned to know how 

 to handle the new bees, I was pre- 

 vented from getting more of them. I 

 felt so well and had such great hope, 

 at the end of the first 2 weeks in Cey- 

 lon, that I should at last solve the 

 mystery regarding this wonderful bee 

 that, though I had given up all hope 

 of getting enough colonies to pay ex- 

 penses, still I stayed over another 

 steamer, determined to make the 

 greatest effort to know about the. 

 value of these bees. 



I cannot say, exactly, as to what we 

 may expectot them, for I do not think 

 I gave them even a fair trial during 

 the few weeks I had these colonies. 

 However, they did not fix up their 

 combs readily, nor did they gather 

 much; besides the rascals would not 

 take the sugar syrup much faster than 

 they wanted it to eat, but they amused 

 themselves by fighting each other, 

 and really stinging to death the 

 weaker members of their own family. 

 Their stings are not to be feared, nor 

 are their tongues as long as I ex- 

 pected to find them. They do get 

 honey, and can be kept in well ventil- 

 ated hives, yet I must consider their 

 introduction into Europe and America 

 as a very doubtful experiment, not 

 because they are not likely to stand 

 pretty cold weather, for they are found 

 in the open air in exposed situations 

 on the tops of high mountains, but I 

 hardly believe they will distinguish 

 themselves as honey gatherers. 



To get them, there should be at 

 least two bee-masters together, and 

 they should come prepared to spend 

 some months at the work, if a thorough 

 trial of the race and positive results 

 were to be attained. 



A letter, written a month ago by 

 Mrs. Benton, was received by me at 

 Aden, and informed me that you 

 wished me to take bees to Cyprus. I 

 shall be glad to get them there alive. 

 Mrs. Benton further says, that on ac 

 count of black plague, which is rag- 

 ing in Mesopotamia and parts of 

 Syria, quarantine has been established 

 in Syrian ports, and between Beyrout 

 and Cyprus, so that, unless I come 

 via. Alexandria, I may be delayed 

 considerably. I hope to learn that by 

 this time the ports have been opened, 

 as, if I have to go from Suez by rail 

 to Alexandria and then take the Eng- 

 lish steamer, I think the expense will 

 be greater, and, if I should not just 

 catch the English steamer in Alexan- 

 andria there would be several days de- 

 lay there. Several lines run from 

 Port Said to Beyrout, and there I 

 would get the English or Austrian 

 Lloyd without much delay. Hoping 

 for the best, I am, yours truly, 



Frank Benton. 



(^ The Caledonian Apiarian So- 

 ciety will hold its Annual Bee and 

 Honey Show, at Sterling, Scotland, on 

 July 26 to 20, 1881. We have received 

 its Premium List, by the courtesy of 

 its efficient Hon. Secretary, Mr. Rob- 

 ert J. Bennett, of Glasgow. It pre- 

 sents a large and varied list of cash 

 prizes, medals and diplomas, and we 

 hope it will be a very successful show. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



California Honey Crop. — In reference 

 to this, the San Francisco Grocer says : 



This year, owing to a reported 

 scarcity of bee food in some localities, 

 a short crop is anticipated, estimated 

 all the way from twenty to fifty per 

 cent. But as similar fears were en- 

 tertained a year ago, they may again 

 prove to be unwarranted. 



g^In our next issue we expect to 

 give the table of winter losses, so far 

 as they are heard from. We intended 

 to have given it this week, but it is 

 crowded out. 



The Crops. — The views of some of 

 the Western Boards of Agriculture 

 concerning the crops for the present 

 season are as follows ; 



In Ohio the yield is expected to be 

 about 80 per cent, of that of last year, 

 the early sown being the best. The 

 acreage in Michigan is about the same 

 as in 1880, and only 10 or 12 bushels 

 per acre are looked for. Indiana ex- 

 pects a crop of only 30.000,000 bushels, 

 as against 47,000,000 last year, the 

 quality being excellent. Wisconsin 

 has a large acreage in spring, but a 

 half breadth of winter wheat, and the 

 crop is in fine condition. The Iowa 

 board estimates the spring- wheat crop 

 at half that of last year, and the win- 

 ter sown at 44 per cent. 



The Linden or Basswoodin Bloom. — 



Mrs. L. Harrison, in the Prairie Far- 

 mer remarks as follows : 



While I am writing, a bouquet from 

 the linden (Tilia Americana) is by my 

 side. About % of the buds are open, 

 and the fragrance is refreshing. This 

 magnificent shade tree reigns supreme 

 in the profusion and quality of its 

 honey. During the opening of its 

 pale yellow bloom, its I> ranches are 

 enlivened by the humming of bees 

 and buzzing of flies that are reveling 

 upon its sweetness, and the bees are 

 so loth to leave this treasure, house of 

 nectar that they spend the night 

 among its leaves, carrying home a 

 load with the hist morning light. 

 The largest amount of honey gath- 

 ered by one colony in one day on rec- 

 ord was from this elegant tree. 

 Therefore, during its bloom every fa- 

 cility should lie afforded the little 

 gleaners, that they may make the 

 most of its harvest. Every impedi- 

 ment to their flight should be re- 

 moved, such as heads of grass or tall 

 weeds, and an easy egress and ingress 

 provided. As fast as surplus boxes 

 are filled and capped, they should be 

 removed, and no colony compelled for 

 want of room to unwilling idleness. 

 Care should be taken to procure the 

 honey in the neatest and most attrac- 

 tive way, so that it will please the eye 

 and be in the best marketable shape. 

 Honey must necessarily be a short 

 crop, as so few bees survived the past 

 winter, and reports from California 

 are not flattering, owing to very late 

 frosts killing the bloom. Bee-keepers 

 should be vigilant and ready to take 

 advantage of every flow of nectar, and 

 so remedy, as far as possible, the un- 

 precedented losses of the past winter. 



Where our Forests are Going.— The 

 Fishkill, N.Y., Standard remarks as 

 follows on this subject, showing that 

 our natural bee-pasturage is fast pass- 

 ing away, and that the successful bee- 

 keeper must plant for his bees : 



To make shoe pegs enough for Ameri- 

 can use consumes annually 100,000 cords 

 of timber, and to make our lucifer match- 

 es, 300,000 cubic feet of the best pine are 

 required every year. Lasts and boot trees 

 take 500,000 cords of birch, beecli and ma- 

 ple, and the handles of tools 500,000 more. 

 The baking of our bricks consumes 2 000 

 000 cords of wood, or what would cover 

 with forest about 50,000 acres of land. 

 Telegraph poles already up represent 

 800,000 trees and their annual repair con- 



sumes about 800,000 more. The tlesofour 

 railroads consume yearly80 years' growth 



Of 75,000 acres, and to fence all our rail- 

 roads would cost 845,000,000, with a yearly 

 expenditure of $15,000,000 for repairs. 



These are some of the ways in which 

 American forests are going, 'there are 

 others; our parking boxes, for instance, 



cost in 1874, 812,000,000, while the timber 

 used each year in making wagons and 

 agricultural implements is valued at more 

 than #100,000,000. 



Will Uees Pay in Oregon J — This 

 question is answered by the Oregon 

 Farmer in the following language : 



If asked, "Will bees pay as well in 

 Oregon as in the Eastern States"? my 

 answer would be. Yes, provided the same 

 care and attention is bestowed upon them 

 here as in the East. By this 1 mean that 

 they will pay as is the average in the. 

 Eastern .States, leaving out the certain 

 favored localities. 



Our winters are milder, and if the hives 

 are sheltered from the rains, every strong 

 swarm that is well provided with honey 

 and has a strong, healthy queen, will 

 winter safely 09 times out of 100. 



In the spring, in this locality — the 

 Willamette valley — the earliest and most 

 important bee forage is our willows, 

 which line the river banks and small 

 streams. From these trees the bees obtain 

 pollen as early as the first week in Febru- 

 ary. Next in importance are, the dande- 

 lion. About the first of April the maple 

 opens out a perfect harvest of honey and 

 pollen for the bees, and being supplement- 

 ed by the peach, plum, pear and apple 

 blossoms, enable the hees to build up 

 strong and prepare for the most impor- 

 tant crop or all, the white clover. This 

 begins to open about the first of June 

 and is in reality the main dependence for 

 our surplus honey. The flavor of this 

 honey is unsurpassed, and in favorable 

 seasons the yield continues aoout 6 

 weeks, when the honey season, as far as 

 surplus is concerned, may be said to be 

 virtually over. In August and September 

 the bees gather their supplies from 

 golden rod and various wild blossoms to 

 he found in our forests. In our list of 

 honey-producing plants we must not over- 

 look the locust and the blackberry, both 

 of which are of considerable value in 

 their seasons. In regard to the yield of 

 surplus honey for the season of 1880, 

 among my own bees it was from 2 up to 

 over 80 pounds, the average being about 

 42 pounds. The same bees also increased 

 by swarming to rather more than double. 



Perhaps the best result from any one 

 colony was 50 pounds surplus aud four 

 swarms, all of which were large. The 

 worst enemy to bees in Oregon is foul 

 brood, now chiefly confined to those who 

 keep bees in box-hives. Moths are not 

 numerous, and with strong colonies need 

 not be feared. 



Adulteration of Food. — By the San 



Francisco (Cal.) Examiner we learn 

 that the Chamber of Commerce, of 

 that city, has drafted a bill against 

 the adulteration of food, to be pre- 

 sented to Congress, next winter, and 

 proposes to exert its utmost power 

 to have it pass. Mr Steele, at that 

 meeting, made the following very 

 pertinent remarks : 



He said there was a great and ur- 

 gent necessity for taking some steps 

 to check the horrible and dishonest 

 adulteration of food and drugs now be- 

 ing extensively carried on in America. 

 He thought that the proposed bill was 

 hardly binding enough, and bad grave 

 doubts as to whether it would pass, 

 as a great body of adulterators would 

 go to all lengths in lobbying against 

 it. He referred to the honey ship- 

 ments and said that the pure honey 

 made on this coast could hardly find a 

 buyer in Europe, on account of the 

 glucose adulterations of New York. 

 In this State, he said, that as yet there 

 was no adulteration of sugar, though 

 it was extensively practiced in the 

 East. He thought a good plan would 

 be to make every- advertisement and 

 label a contract, any breach of which 

 could be recovered on. He then 

 moved that Congress should be asked 

 by the Chamber of Commerce to pass 

 the proposed bill at once, and that the 

 representatives of California in Con- 

 gress be urged by the board to use 

 their best efforts to secure its pas- 

 sage, which was carried. 



