THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
119 
main to the iaUnd.if there should ever be any 
venturesome enough to attempt the trip. Such 
a reservation a* this, by Act of Parliament, 
ii probably unique in the annals of apiculture, 
and our beekeepers flattered themselves that 
they would be able to supply the world 
with guaranteed pure Italian queens against 
which not the slightest suspicion of taint could 
be brought. 
It can easily be imagined how shocked were 
our beekeepers when Mr. Allerdale Grainger, 
M.P., returned one day shortly after the Act 
was passed, after a trip to the island in a vain 
search for tin lodes, and reported that the 
island was swarming with wild black bees, 
escaped from cultivation. To myself the news 
was strange, because I hud seen a good deal 
of the island, but had noticed nothing more 
nearly resembling our common black bee than 
the blowflies, of which there are myriads, 
which especially frequent the ti trees, or 
mclaleucas, when in blossom. Subsequent 
careful inquiry proved that Mr. Grainger had 
been either mistaken or else misinformed — 
most probably the latter, for, speaking from 
personal experience, I can certify that there 
are one or two old residents of Kangaroo 
Island who would travel a long distance around 
in order to avoid coming near the truth, l'he 
inquiry, however, did bring out the Inct that 
there arc bees on Kangaroo Island, which 
were described as living in the old “Yucca’’ 
stems in so-called “colonies” of about a dozen 
at most, and some surveyors and others had 
even brought in the stems inhabited with 
these bees, and kept them near their tents for 
some time. These bees were described ns 
being very large and very handsome, and as 
making a kind of a comb and gathering honey, 
which, however, was not very nice. 
These reports made me very anxious to 
secure a " colony ’’ of Yucca bees, and upon a 
journey from Queensclilf to Cape llorda last 
March twelve months I examined many 
hundreds of Yucca stems in the hope of 
grtting or.e. As it happened I saw a number, 
but not know ing the ** signs” 1 was completely 
in the dark, and parsed them over. 
It mar be necessary here to describe the 
** ^ueca, ' which is otherwise enlied the gross- 
tree, or by botanists Xanthorrhira Tatei it 
obtained the specific name “ Tatei ** from 
hating been mentioned in Professor Tate's list 
of plants indigenous to Kungnroo Island under 
lbs name of X. quadrnnguinta. Mr. J. G. O. 
Irpper, visiting the island ufti r wards, noticed 
that it differed considerably from the form of 
grass-tree upon the mainland known as X. 
quadrangulata, and obtained specimens of the 
flowers, leaves, &c., which he forwarded to 
llaron F. von Mueller, who recognised it as a 
flew species, and gave it the name of X. Tatei. 
This plant, which is one of the order Liliaccae, 
grows very abundantly upon the island, and 
often is of considerable size. One recorded by 
the Conservator of Forests and Professor Tate 
was 19 feet from the ground to the “grass,” 
and 31 feet from the soil to the top of the 
flower spike, actual measurement. The 
highest that 1 have measured was only 12 feet 
from the ground to the leaves, and about 2 
feet diameter at a foot from the soil. Luring 
travel 1 saw several which were estimated at 
15 feet, but we could not afford time to stop 
and measure them. There is a very peculiar 
feature about these plants, which has been 
noticed by Mr. Tcppcr. They seem to com- 
mence life as exogens and to change to 
endogens later on. We brought up several 
club-shaped cores of the earlier growth for the 
purpose of working the problem out. The 
plant appears to start first by producing a 
cone of extremely bard wood, harder than 
mahogany, and often a foot in length. Upon 
this base it builds up a fibrous mass, to a 
height of perhaps 3 feet, and enveloping this 
is a shell of persistent leuf-basos, glued together 
with the characteristic Yucca resin. The stem 
thus formed is the “ biackboy ” of the settlers, 
upon the apex of which the long brittle leaves 
grow, and from the middle of which springs 
the long flowering stem. Very rarely there 
are two stems. These grass-trees resemble 
the Drnctcna australis or some of the other 
true Yuccas, and from this resemblance they 
obtain the uume “Yucca.” They seldom go 
into flower until after a tire has passed over 
them, when every grass-tree that has been 
scorched — and not destroyed — sends up its 
flower-stem. It happens often that a track or 
perhaps a stream will check the fire in one 
direction ; and here will be noticed thousands 
of long flower-stems upon the one hand, 
whilst upon the other not one of the grnss- 
trees will have a sign of flower. They must 
be in some cases very old — perhaps 200 year* 
or more. When they die the interior turns to 
dust and loose fibre, whilst the outer shell 
stand*. Upon scratching out this dust a large 
tublike hollow is made, with the agglutinated 
leaf-bases forming the walls, and at the 
bottom, in the centre of a thin saucer-shaped 
shell, perhaps 20 inches across, stands the 
cone re fori id to— a long cone pointing to the 
meridian, standing upon a very short cone 
descending 3 or i inches through the saucer* 
like bottom shell. The roots proceed from the 
bottom of this bottom shell, srpaiatcd by a 
space of about half an inch in large sp« cimens, 
are as thick as a lead-pencil, and descend 
perpendicularly. Between the old leaf-bases 
near the bottom of the trunk, up to 18 inches 
high, the resin is in solid massrs, and as 
much as four bushels of resin have been taken 
