616 
APPENDIX. 
of the same bee, although he denies to the one described by him the power of 
constructing combs. Some of the honey-sacs are placed apart from the others, 
forming a distinct cluster of the same general appearance as those immediately 
adjoining the comb. 
From this singular position of the honey-sacs a most important advantage is 
obtained by the cultivators of the Mexican hive bee. To possess themselves of its 
honey it is unnecessary to have recourse to the means adopted in Europe for stupi- 
fying, or even destroying, the inhabitants of the hive. All that is necessary is, to 
remove the plug from the end of the cavity employed as a hive, to introduce the 
hand, and withdraw the honey-sacs. The store of the laborious bee is thus trans- 
ferred to the proprietor of the hive without injuring, and almost without disturbing, 
its inhabitants. The end of the hive is then again stopped up ; and the bees hasten 
to lay up a fresh store of honey in lieu of that of which they have been despoiled, 
again to be robbed of their precious deposit-. A hive treated in this way affords, 
during the summer, at least two harvests. 
The honey is usually pressed from the sacs by the hand. Its consistence is 
thin, but its flavour is good, although inferior to that of the whiter honey fur- 
nished by the Spanish bee (probably our jlpis mellifica, L.). It does not readily 
ferment, some of that contained in the hive being perfectly sweet and grateful, 
even after its arrival in England. 
The wax is coarse in quality ; its colour is a dark yellowish-brown. The 
whole of it appears to be similar in texture and properties, as well that used in 
the construction of the cells, as that which is applied to the coarser work of 
forming honey-sacs and supports ; the only remarkable difference being, that in 
the former it is apparently paler, probably owing to the layers employed being 
considerably thinner and more delicate. 
Of the varnish-like substance known by the name of propolis, and used by 
the European bees to cover the foreign substances with which they frequently 
come in contact, scarcely any vestige is exhibited, although we have evidence of 
its existence. The wood of the inside of the hive, except where wax is applied to 
it, is perfectly naked. 
The hollow of the trunk forming the hive now before us is irregular in its 
outline, and varies in its breadth in different parts. Its average diameter, however, 
is about five inches. The length occupied by the cells is more than seven inches ; 
and the total length between the extremities of the honey-sacs is fifteen inches. 
The number of its inhabitants, assuming that of the cells as a guide, must have 
been considerably under a thousand ; a number trifling in comparison with that 
contained in the hives of the European bee, which commonly amounts to as many 
as twenty-four thousand. 
