334 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



On Important Subjects. 



Bee-Keeping; in the Pacific Islands. 



BY "MALTA." 



While strolling quietly through the 

 lovely groves of mango, breadfruit, 

 cocoanut, and other tropical plants, the 

 well known roar— it was more than a 

 hum — of busy bee-life struck my aston- 

 ished ear, for I had been old that the 

 nearest hives in Tahiti were at least 3 

 miles from Papiete, and I was actually 

 among the houses and gardens on the 

 skirts of the town ; however, very few 

 steps brought me suddenly upon an 

 apiary of nearly 100 colonies, and these 

 I proceeded to inspect. 



Platforms standing some two or three 

 feet from the ground were scattered 

 about under the trees, and upon each 

 stood about half a dozen hives almost 

 touching one another, carefully pent- 

 housed over, but otherwise very care- 

 fully kept ; bits of wax, broken combs, 

 empty boxes, etc., laid about anyhow, 

 hives not painted or mended — in fact, 

 " Tahiti-like " in every respect. 



The hives were peculiar — formed of a 

 series of boxes about 18 inches high, 

 the same across, but only 6 inches from 

 back to front, placed one behind 

 another with a board to close the front, 

 and another the back ; the whole kept 

 close together by a rough cramp and 

 wedge arrangement. 



They looked exactly as 4 or 5 section- 

 crates or "lifts" would look standing 

 on their sides, one behind another. The 

 edges fitted badly, or rather didn't fit at 

 all, so that the bees found their way in 

 where they pleased — side, back, front, 

 top or bottom. 



For the perpetual summer of Tahiti, 

 the arrangement answers well, as it 

 gives the necessary ventilation, while 

 the pent-house takes off the rain and 

 shades the hives from the direct rays of 

 the sun. 



Internally, each box or section of hive, 

 had two rows of lath battens running 

 from side to side, 4 in each row, one row 

 close to the top, the other row about 

 half way down, and on these the combs 

 were supposed to be built, and then re- 

 moved, batten and all, when completed 

 and full. 



The bees appear to be very small, but 

 sturdy, very yellow, quite as much so 

 as Cyprians, but without the delicate 



figure of that race ; exceedingly hairy, 

 and from their shape and make I should 

 say are cross-bred. The drones also are 

 small. 



Bee-keeping has been largely tried in 

 Tahiti, but given up, there being no 

 energy and no market for the honey, 

 and the peculiar flavor of the cocoanut 

 did not meet with approval. Probably 

 queens have been imported from Cali- 

 fornia, and hence the cross-bred stock. 



At Fanning Island — a coral atoll on 

 the equator — I found a hive on the 

 modern plan, the owner, the only white 

 man, told me he knew nothing of bee- 

 keeping, but managed, nevertheless, to 

 get 60 pounds of honey in a year from 

 his solitary hive. He had lost 2 colonies 

 by lizards, ants and insects, so had 

 placed the present one on a platform 

 erected in a pond, and now defied the 

 enemy. 



He said the bees were very savage, 

 and worked all the year around on the 

 cocoanut blossom, but he did not know 

 when they swarmpd. The bees were 

 dark, and clustering very thickly outside 

 the hive, owing to heat, as he had no 

 shade-board. 



The honey he showed me was pale, 

 and without much flavor, but it was 

 difficult tp judge fairly, as it was 

 squeezed out by hand, and not given a 

 chance of showing to advantage. 



Panama. 



Importing Apis Dorsata at Private Cost. 



W. C. FBAZIER. 



I notice quite a number of references 

 of late in the bee-periodicals and else- 

 where concerning importing Apis dor- 

 sata — the giant bees of India — by the 

 Government. It would be desirable if 

 we could get the Government to engage 

 in sue i a scheme, and would perhaps be 

 a great benefit to the bee-keepers if we 

 could have them undertake it. But the 

 Government has a habit of letting 

 private individuals undertake all such 

 matters, and if they would move in this 

 matter, it would be a long time before 

 the people would come into possession 

 of them. Now, if these bees are worth 

 importing at all, they are worth getting 

 at private expense. The preponderance 

 of evidence seems to be that they would, 

 without a doubt, be a valuable acquisi- 

 tion. 



No bees have been brought to America 

 but have proven as good here as in their 

 native land. Nearly all the stock of all 



