THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



307 



Bees in Africa and the Kafirs. 



The bees of Africa, especially of 

 the Southern portion, near the Cape 

 of Good Hope, are as much more 

 vicious than the Cyprian bees, as the 

 Cyprians are Grosser than tlie Italians, 

 if we may credit the testimony of a 

 c(jrrespondent of the London Nature, 

 who relates the experience of himself 

 and his two servants (one a Kafir and 

 the otiier a colored Malay), which he 

 describes as follows : 



I keep two apiaries at a considerable 

 distance from each other, to one "of 

 which my gardner, a colored Malay, 

 attends, and to the other a Kafir la- 

 borer. At first they were generally 

 stung when passing too near the en- 

 trance of a hive, but now they pass 

 and repass with impunity. They work 

 with the bees more frequently than I 

 do, and yet when either of tliem assists 

 me in his own api;iry, he receives 

 more stings than I do. This I ascribe 

 to the gardner's using snuff in his 

 mouth very freely, and to the Kafir's 

 very pronounced odor. 



To test the recognition of the beea, 

 I once requested the Malay and tlie 

 Kafir to change clothes with each 

 other, and wear thick veils over their 

 heads and faces. They did so, and 

 assisted ine first in the apiaries to 

 which they were respectively in the 

 habit of iitLending, with the result 

 that they received no stings, but when 

 either began to work with the bees in 

 the apiary he usually did not attend 

 to, he was so stung about the hands 

 that he had to beat a hasty retreat, 

 while I remaiiied uninjured, although 

 not veiled. The two men are almost 

 of the same size and build, so that if 

 the bees had any power of general 

 recognition, they would probably (as 

 some of the other servants did) have 

 mistaken the one for the other. lean, 

 therefore, only account for the con- 

 duct of the bees by the unpleasant, 

 and to them strange, odor. At my re- 

 quest the gardner discontinued the 

 use of snuff in his mouth for some 

 time, and during that time he was not 

 stung more than I was, while working 

 with the bees ; but if the Kafir stands 

 before the entrance of an unaccus- 

 tomed hive, he is remorselessly stung. 



I may add that Cape bees are very 

 much more vicious than European 

 ones seem to be, and that, if not skill- 

 fully handled, they will unmercifully 

 sting their most familiar friends. On 

 one occasion, a bunch of carrots was 

 left near the gardner's apiary, which 

 so enraged the bees that they stung 

 him and everyone else they came 

 across, and very nearly stinig a cow to 

 death at a distance of about a hundred 

 yards from the apiary ; and on another 

 occasion a horse, still wet with swe.-it, 

 trespassed too near a hive, with the 

 result that the whole apiary was in 

 uproar, and some of my children and 

 servants were stung, the chief victim 

 being a Malay girl, who used to apply 

 quantities of scented pomatum to her 

 nair, and who was severely stung on 

 the head. 



Mr. Romanes continues his narra- 

 tion thus : 



" Again, many instances might be 

 quoted, such as that given by Guer- 

 ingius, who allowed a species of wasp, 

 native to Natal, to build in the door- 

 posts of his house, and who observed 

 that, although he often interfered 

 with the nest, he was only once stung, 

 and this by a young wasp ; while no 

 Kafir could venture to approach the 

 door, much less pass through it." 



It does not appear whether any white 

 stranger was ever stung, and the only 

 inference that could be reasonably 

 drawn from the conduct of the wasps, 

 is, that they disliked the odor of Kafirs, 

 which, as is well-known, is peculiarly 

 disagreeable. If a particular Kafir had 

 been in the habit of passing through 

 the door, the wasps would probably 

 have become accustomed to his scent, 

 in the same way as a colony of bees, 

 upon the testimony of Sir John Lub- 

 bock, became accustomed to the scent 

 of eau-de-cologne repeatedly dropped 

 at the entrance of their hive. 



queen. Tlie combs of honey and brood 

 can be given to small colonies. 



Keep the Bees at Work. 



There is at present every indication 

 that the honey harvest this year will 

 be very large. Honey - producing 

 plants, trees and shrubs are full of 

 liquid sweetness, and with fair weather 

 the crop will be an exceedingly large 

 one. Mrs. L. Harrison in the Prairie 

 Farmer remarks as follows on this and 

 other important subjects : 



No one can now tell what the har- 

 vest will be, but there is a great 

 growth of white clover, and if the 

 clerk of nature's laboratory works in 

 our favor, we shall secure an abundant 

 harvest, for the workers are many and 

 the fields white. But the watchmen 

 must be faithful and see that every 

 tenant pays his rent ; no " loafing " 

 must be allowed, and " hanging out " 

 stopped instanter. Some bees will 

 wax fat, and loaf for weeks, getting 

 ready to swarm, if allowed to do so. 

 There is no need of waxing fat, when 

 they are to be supplied with founda- 

 tion for their combs. 



There sliould at all times be plenty 

 of surplus room, not too much, but 

 enough to accommodate all the bees. 

 Sometimes bees hang out because 

 there is too little ventilation, or they 

 are too warm. They should be cooled 

 by shading, given more air and surpUis 

 room. If all these fail, smoke them 

 in, and if they cluster out again, pour 

 honey on them, stir them up with a 

 spoon, and then run for life, for they 

 will be on the rampage. As a last 

 resort, prepare a hive with frames of 

 comb or foundation, and lift off the 

 surplus boxes on to it, remove the 

 hive and place the prepared hive 

 where the old one stood. AH the bees 

 returning from the fields enter this, 

 and the bees on the combs brushed 

 in front of this, together with the 



Honey and Beeswax Market. 



OFFICE OF AMERICAN BEE JOLTHNAL. { 



Monday, 10 a. m., June 18, 1882. ( 



The following are the latest quota- 

 tions for honey and beeswax received 

 up to this hour : 



Quotations or Cush Buyers. 



CHICAGO. 



HONEY— The nominal price of extracted is 7c. 

 for dark and He. for linhi— liere. The supply is 

 abundant and sales are slow. 



BEESWAX— None in the market. 



AL. H. Newman, h23 W. Madison St. 



CIN<;1NNAT1. 



HONE v.— The market for extracted honey is 

 lively, and tlie demand exceeds the arrivals. Our 

 stock is small and we are in danger of having sold 

 out every day. We pay 7ij^l0c. for good honey on 

 arrival, the latter price for choice clover. There 

 is a small demand for comb honey, and prices 

 nominal. 



BEESWAX.— Arrivals of beeswax are plentiful. 

 We pay 35c. for a good article on arrival. 



ChAS. F. MOTH. 



<{uotall«tiiit on'omrolHslon Herchunta. 



NEW YORK. 



HONEY.— Best clover in I-lb. sections (no glass) 

 22(flj23c. : in 2-lb. sections (glassed) 18(S*20c. Fair 

 quality. 1 and li-lb. sections, 17Sil8c Extracted, 

 white, in small barrels, loigil IXc; buckwheat, 8(^9c. 



BEESWAX.- Is more plentiful. Prime yellow 



H. K. & P. B. Thurber & Co. 



CHII'AQO. 

 HONE Y.— Prices declining. Holders are anxious 

 to sell, and the prices vary very much. 

 BEESWAX— 3.=i(Si36c. 



R. A. Burnett, 161 South Water St. 



SAN FKANCISCO. 

 HONEY-Stocks and the demand are both light. 

 More or less difficulty would be experienced in 

 filling a large order for a straight lot. 



White comb, 14(!ol7c,: dark to go d,ll@l3c.i ex- 

 tracted, choice to extra white, 8^@9^c. ; dark and 

 candied, 5®7>^c. 

 BEBSWAX-Wholesale, 27.328c. 



Stearns i smith. i'iS Front Street. 



ST. i.OUIS. 

 HONEY.— Strained salable at 7@7Hc; comb sold 

 in a lobbing wav only— old 10(3il4c, and new 15c. 

 BEESWAX.- Sold mainly at 33(!«34c— latter for 



CLEVELAND. 

 HONEY.— There is amoderalesalefor best white 

 1-lb. sections at I8c, occasionally 19c, but 2 lbs. are 

 not called for. Extracted Is no sale at all. 

 BEESWA.X- Not offering. 



A. C. Kendel, 1 1.5 Ontario Street. 



BOSTON. 



HONEY- Our market is fairly active. We quote: 



i^ lb. sections at 3I1C.: 1 lb. sections, 22(6:250.; 2 1b. 



sections, 2ii(a22c. Extracted, inc. per lb. Good 



lots ot extracted are wanted in kegs or barrels. 



BEESWAX-Our supply is gone; we have none 

 to quote. 



Crocker & Blake, s" Chatham Street. 



1^ When writing to this office on 

 business, our correspondents should 

 not write anything fiw publication on 

 the same sheet of paper, unless it can 

 be torn apart without interfering with 

 either portion of the letter. The edi- 

 torial and business departments are 

 separate and distinct, and when the 

 business is mixed up with items for 

 Dublication it often causes confusion. 

 They may both be sent in one envelope 

 but on separate pieces of paper. 



Advertisements intended for the Bee 

 Journal must reach this office by 

 Saturday of the previous week. 



