_ BEE MANUAL. 9 
of bee-keeping in his adopted country, and in 1848 he produced his 
‘Manual for New Zealand Bee-keepers,’ published at Wellington, 
New Zealand. Before the introduction of the honey bee intu New 
Zealand, they had to send over to England every year for the white 
clover seed (7'rifoliwm repens), as it did not seed freely there, but by 
the agency of the bees they are now able to export it. New Zealand 
is such a good country for bees, that Mr. Cotton told me, one stock 
had increased to twenty-six in one year. The natives call the bee the 
white man’s fly.” 
Mrs. Allom, the lady before referred to, some time in 1842 
(as Iam informed by Mr. Allcm), sent some colonies of bees 
to Nelson and Wellington ; those sent to Nelson were con- 
signed to Captain Wakefield, the then head of that settlement, 
and reached their destination safely, while those forwarded to 
Wellington died before arrival. This lady’s claim has never 
before, as far as I know or can ascertain, been recognised except 
by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Adelphi, London. 
That Society awarded her the Silver Isis Medal in 1845, for 
her “communication respecting her successful introduction of 
bees to New Zealand.” 
From the bees thus introduced in the years 1840 to 1842 
have sprung the whole of the black stock of New Zealand. 
INTRODUCTION OF ITALIAN BEES INTO NEW ZEALAND. 
Previous to the year 1880 several unsuccessful attempts 
were made to introduce Ligurian bees into this colony. I 
believe the Honourable Thomas Russell, C.M.G., spent a large 
sum of money to secure this object, but in vain. The hot 
weather encountered in the passage from America to this 
country, and also the imperfect knowledge as to the best mode 
of packing bees to travel long distances, acted as almost in- 
superable barriers to their introduction. By these repeated 
failures, however, apiarists gained knowledge, and as a result, 
in September, 1880, two splendid colonies of Ligurians were 
landed in Auckland—one consigned to the Acclimatisation 
Society, Christchurch, the other to Mr. J. H. Harrison, Coro- 
mandel. Too much praise cannot be given to Captain Cargill, 
who took charge of the little creatures from the moment they 
were shipped and personally attended to all their wants on the 
passage across. These hives came from Los Angelos County, 
California, and were procured by Mr. R. J. Creighton, the 
