756 



THE JEryiERIC^M MBW JO^RftSI^. 



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GLEiMS OF SEWS. 



Hunting Bees in Australia. — 



The following very interesting account of 

 bee-huuting i|i Australia, is from an ex- 

 change : 



The wild bee of Australia differs little in 

 size or appearance from our common horse- 

 fly, and is stlngless. Most ot tlie trees in 

 that country are hollow, and it is in the 

 cavities of the branches that the bees de- 

 posit their honey, at a considerable dis- 

 tance from the ground. It is of an aromatic 

 taste, and chiefly gatliered from the leaves 

 and blossoms of the different trees that 

 clothe the whole country, from the summits 

 of the mountains to the sea-shore, with the 

 exception of occasional plains, which are of 

 rare occurrence. By the aborijiines of 

 Australia this honey is regarded as a great 

 luxury, and it is very interesting to note 

 with what sagacity they contrive to indulge 

 their taste for it— searching it out with in- 

 fallible eye-siaht, and with amazing delicacy 

 of touch. Their method of tinding these 

 natural hives, which are not numerous, is 

 curious, not only from the fact that the 

 most minute observation, and the most 

 delicate manipulations must have been re- 

 quired to enable the inventor of it to suc- 

 ceed but also because it displays a knowl- 

 edge of the natural history ot an insect, 

 such as 1 can venture to say, a large portion 

 of the civilized world does not possess. 



From the absence in many parts of the 

 bush of Australia of Howers, the little na- 

 tive bee may be seen bu-ily working on the 

 barl£ of the trees, and unlike the bee of tins 

 country, which is ever on the move from 

 flower to flower, it seems to he nncimscious 

 of danger. This may arise from the vast- 

 ness ot the solitude in Australia, which are 

 seldom or ever disturbed, except by a pass- 

 ing tribe, or by its own wild denizens, which 

 are far from numerous. The bee is there- 

 fore easily approached, and the bright, clear 

 atmosphere of the climate is peculiarly 

 favorable to the pursuit. 



A party of two or three natives, armed 

 with a tomahawk, sally forth into the bush, 

 havina previously pn)viited themselves with 

 soft white down "from the breast of some 

 bird, whice is very light in texture, and at 

 the same time very bluffy. With that won- 

 derful quickness of sight which practice 

 has renaered perfe t, tliey descry the little 

 brownish, leaden colnred insect on the hark, 

 and rolling up an end of the down feather 

 to the finest possible point belween their 

 fingers, they dip itin the gummy substance, 

 which a pecular sort of lierb exudes when 

 the stem is broken, they cautiou-<ly approach 

 the bee, and with great delicacy of touch 

 place the gummed point under tlie hind 

 leg-i of the bee. it at once adheres. Then 

 comes the result for which all this prepara- 

 tion had been made. The bee, feeling the 

 additional weinht, fancies he has done his 

 task, and is laden with honey, and flies off 

 from the tree on his homeward journey, at 

 not a great distance from the ground. The 

 small white feather is now all that can be 

 discerned, and the hunt at once commences. 



Kanning on afoot amid broken branches 

 and stony uround, requires, one would 

 think, the aid of one's eyesight ; but with 

 the native Australians it is not so. Without 

 for a moment taking their eyes off the ob- 

 ject, they follow it, sometimes the distance 

 of half a mile, and rarely, if ever, fail in 

 marking the very branch where they saw 

 the little bit of white-diwn disappear at the 

 entianceof the hive. Here there is a halt, 

 the prize is found, and they sit down to re- 

 gain their breath, before ascending the tree, 

 and to light a pipe, to which old and young, 

 men, women and children, are extremely 

 partial. 



When the rest and smoke are over, with 

 one arm round the tree, and the tomahawk 

 in the other, the blackman notches in the 

 hark, and placing the big toe in the notches 

 ot this hastily constructed stair, ascends till 

 he comes to where the branches commence. 

 Then putting the handle of the tomahawk 

 between his teeth, he climbs with the ease 

 and agility of a monkey, until he reaches 

 the branch where last he saw the white- 

 down disappear. He then carefully sounds 

 the branches with the back of his toma- 

 hawk, till the dull sound as distinct from 

 the hollow sound, tells him where the bees 

 are. Aholf is then cut, and he puts his 

 hand in and takes the honey out. If alone, 

 the savage eats of the honey until he can 

 eat no more, and leaves the rest. But if 

 others are with him, he cuts a square piece 

 of bark, and after having his part as a re- 

 ward for his exertion, brings down a mass 

 of honey and comb mixed up together, 

 which, though not inviting, is greedily de- 

 voured by his partners below. 



Itee-Association for Blaryland. 



—An enthusiastic correspondent of the 

 State of Maryland, writes as follows on the 

 subject : 



I wish to call attention to the fact that 

 there is not in our State (Maryland) a bee- 

 keepers' association, although it embraces 

 three of the largest supply depots in the 

 country, and therefore susfgests a goodly 

 numiierof bee-keepers. Among the " Edi- 

 torial Buzzin^s " of the American Bee 

 Journal of Nov. 7, in an article about the 

 number of bee-societies in America com- 

 pared with those in Germany, it states as a 

 reason for their scarcity in America, that 

 our bee-keepers "think that they know it 

 all, and tliere is no need of societies for 

 them. And as for imparting their knowl- 

 edge to their less confident or less infnrmed 

 brethren— they scoff that idea !" Now shall 

 we not try to remedy this, and add one more 

 to the numher of American bee-societies? 

 Can we not oraanizean association that will 

 call together the bee-keepers of Maryland, 

 and thesurionndins country ? Or shall we 

 always remain "in short-arm'd ignorance?" 



Certainly you can organize a society. Just 

 issue a "call" for a meeting, organize an 

 association, and tjiere is no reason why you 

 cannot have one of the best societies in 

 America. • 



Here is a hint : If you act at once, you 

 may be the first to affiliate with the '•' Inter- 

 national American ;" and that would be 

 quite a " feather in your cap," for the "In- 

 ternational " is taking everywhere, and will 

 become the "central sun " of apiculture in 

 America in a very short time. 



Act quickly ! Strike out for success ! Be 

 enthusiastic ! These are the watch-words 

 which bring success, everytime. 



Ants.— A bee-keeper in Norway, Mr. P. 

 A. Larsen, recommends as a remedy against 

 ants, the use of the intestines of fish. He 

 puts some of it into tlie nest, and he insists 

 that the ants are always chased away, if 

 this remedy Is applied once or twice. 



Another gentleman, Mr. C. Omberg, rec- 

 ommends the use of powdered lime. He 

 puts some of it around the hives with the 

 same good effect. 



Your Full Address, plainly written, 

 is very essential in order to avoid mistakes. 



Food Adulteration was discussed 

 at the annual meeting of the National Board 

 of Trade at Chicago, last week, when con- 

 sidering the advisability of asking Congress 

 to pass a law against adulterated lard. 

 Among other things the preamble sets forth 

 that " such adulteration of lard has grown 

 to be a National scandal, and has seriously 

 damaged the good name of American lard, 

 both in this country and abroad." 



The following resolution was, after con- 

 siderable discussion, carried : 



Resolved, That the National Board of 

 Trade recommends to the Congress of the 

 United States the enactment of such laws 

 and regulations as will compel all refiners 

 and dealers to brand all adulterated lard, 

 "Compound lard," or with some brand such 

 as will plainly distinguish the pure from 

 the impure article, in order that the con- 

 sumers at home and abroad may know the 

 one from the other. 



This is all very well, but why not by law 

 condemn all other food adulterations ? 

 Almost everything used for food aud medi- 

 cine by man is adulterated, and all should 

 be protected by law from the ill-advised and 

 health-destroying sophistications. If we 

 mistake not, a bill was prepared, and is now 

 pending before Congress, which covers not 

 only the adulteration of food, but also the 

 compounded articles of food. 



Every honest man should not only favor 

 and endorse such action by Congress as 

 would compel men to be honest with food 

 of all kinds, including honey ; but they 

 should work for the enforcement of such a 

 law to the letter, as well as the spirit thereof. 



The low prices of honey have fortunately 

 driven adulterators of that article to the 

 wall. But if the prices advance again, they 

 may revive their nefarious business. 



A law against all adulterations is needed, 

 and it should be speedily passed by Con- 

 gress, and rigidly enforced in every partot 

 the United States of America. 



Xlie Honey Season in I^orway. 



—An editorial in Tldskrift for Biskjotsel 

 for October, says : " This season has for 

 us bee-keepers been a dull one, and the pre- 

 vious winter was still worse. A worse fail- 

 ure in tlie honey crop will scarcely be heard 

 of. Many colonies had to be fed in the 

 midst of the summer, and many of them 

 starved to death. But now we have a good 

 flow from heather, and we hope that the 

 bees have gathered enough for winter use." 

 Regarding the heather honey, it is said, 

 in another editorial, that it must be ex- 

 tracted every di(y, because if it is left with 

 the bees until it is capped over, it is impos- 

 sible to get it out of the cells. 



■*Ve-»vill Present a Pocket Dictionary 

 for two subscribers with S3.00. It is always 

 useful to have a dictionary at hand to decide 

 the spelling of words, and their meaning. 



l>r. Miller's Book, "A Tear Among 

 the Bees," and the American Bee Jomi- 

 NAL for one year— we send both for $1.50. 



