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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct. 1 



GOVERNMENT AID TO BEE=KEEPERS. 



BY \V. K. MORRISON. 



I am glad Prof. Benton has replied to my 

 article on the above subject. We hear so 

 little about what the government is doing 

 for bee-keeping that it is a real pleasure to 

 know that it has not lapsed into what Mr. 

 Cleveland would term " innocuous desue- 

 tude." 



What I said about Dr. Alfred Russell 

 Wall:Hce would seem to be clear enough, 

 even for the proverbial ' ' man in the street. ' ' 

 For a traveler mainly in search of birds, 

 and studying natural history generally. 

 Dr. Wallace's account of Apis dorsata is 

 excellent; at least, I for one don't expect 

 travelers to write treatises on subjects of 

 this kind, and I will only repeat what I 

 originally said, that his descriptions of the 

 giant bee are very clear and accurate. To 

 expect Dr. Wallace to write a technical ac- 

 count oi Apis dorsata, how it behaves under 

 domestication, its life history, etc., is rath- 

 er too much. But the most important point 

 of the whole controversy Prof. Benton leaves 

 unnoticed. It is this : Apis dorsata has 

 never been domesticated. It may be possi- 

 ble to domesticate this bee; but why not try 

 to tarne it on its own native heath? Why 

 not study it and tame it before bringing it 

 to this side of the world? I do not claim a 

 monopol}^ of the domestication of Apis Indi- 

 ca. If the reader will examine the sen- 

 tence referred to it will be seen that I made 

 my meaning clear to every one, except, per- 

 haps, to Prof. Benton. I am and have been 

 well aware that Apis Indica was kept in a 

 domestic state by the natives of India, and 

 so have many others, most of whom never 

 saw the "Manual of Apiculture." But 

 Prof. Benton does not seem to be aware 

 that Apis Indica is a failure thus far in a 

 Langstroth hive. Experiments are being 

 made with it, and we may hear of better 

 results later on. 



Relative to the bees of Africa, what I 

 said is true if some of the best African ex- 

 plorers can be trusted to tell the truth. 

 Prof. Benton states that the bees of South 

 America are of only one genus, the 3Ielli- 

 pona. As a matter of fact, the bees of 

 South America belong to three genera and 

 of many species. Probably South America 

 contains as many species of honey-bees as 

 all the rest of the world put together. 

 South American bees have been kept for 

 ages in a domestic state; and as for the as- 

 sertion they won't stand cold, there is noth- 

 ing to support it. Stingless bees can be 



found near Caracas, at an elevation of 800O 

 feet; and in all probability they can be 

 found elsewhere at 15,000 feet above sea- 

 level. If the fact that A. dorsata lives at 

 400IJ or 5000 feet above sea-level proves 

 hardiness, what shall we say about 8000 

 for the stingless fellows? I will go fur- 

 ther, and send the editor of Gleanings 

 South American bees that, at the distance 

 of a few feet, can not be told from the black 

 Apis mellifica. And I can also send speci- 

 mens that look much like Doolittle's best 

 Italians, except they are thicker. So far 

 from dismissing the bees of South America 

 with contempt, the more I have studied the 

 subject the more I am convinced that a care- 

 ful study of them would repay its cost a 

 thousandfold. We know but precious little 

 about South America, particularly its nat- 

 ural history. I know the folks up north are 

 in the habit of expressing themselves as if 

 South America were a well-known conti- 

 nent, when just the opposite is the case. 

 We know next to nothing about its internal 

 resources. Venezuela, which is the nearest 

 South American country to the United 

 States, is almost unknown; and what has 

 appeared about it lately in the newspapers 

 is mostly fiction. Alexander von Hum- 

 boldt was the last traveler who "did" 

 Venezuela, and he landtd in Cumana in 

 1799. The country has changed \&xy little 

 since then except for the worse. Hence 

 when the bee-keepers of the world see the 

 appearance of a book about the bees of 

 South America they may expect something 

 of engrossing interest; and the man who 

 writes it deserves well of the bee-keepers of 

 the world. 



I believe that government aid ought to be 

 granted to enable us to study the bees of 

 the far East; but whether we should ask 

 the government no'cv is another matter alto- 

 gether. It is not always advisable to ask 

 for a thing, though it may seem to be a 

 good thing in itself. Some very interesting 

 bee problems can be worked out without 

 leaving the grounds on which the buildings 

 of the Department of Agriculture stand. 

 And it goes without saying, that Congress- 

 men like to see what they vote money for; 

 and if they approve of it, more funds will 

 be forthcoming. One of the reasons why 

 Congressmen refuse to vote money is they 

 fear it will be squandered on unprofitable 

 work, or be simply used to furnish an office 

 for some importunate office-seeker. Such 

 things have happened. Personally I be- 

 lieve Congress will readily allow money 

 for apiculture if there is a certainty the 

 money will be profitably spent. Prof. Ben- 

 ton is correct when he states that apiarian 

 societies ought to take this matter up and 

 discuss it. It is the bee-keepers who should 

 decide this question, and they need not wait 

 for the general government to move in the 

 matter. California can well afford to help 

 the bee-keepers of that great State. Texas 

 has made an excellent beginning. Other 

 States should fall into line. New York, 

 for example, can well afford something 



