started with twenty-eight colonies, five of which only survived the 
voyage to Java, and these were in a very weak state. Although he 
spent nearly three years in Buitenzorg he took no steps whatever to 
discover Apis dorsata. Hi- first attempt, though a most expensive 
one, has turned out a complete failure; the bees were brought all the 
way from Holland, while they might have been obtained equally well 
much nearer Java. Jaffa, which is only twelve hours’ voyage from 
Port Said, would have supplied them. It was further unnecessary to 
have a separate cabin of 10 feet square for the bees, as they would 
have been quite as well on deck under cover of a sail, which would 
have saved 250fl. In addition to the cabin a certain quantity of ice 
was used daily to keep the colonies cool—a proceeding which, besides 
being expensive, was absolutely injurious to the bees, as it rendered 
the hives damp, and caused dysentery among the population. During 
the whole voyage the bees had only one opportunity, at Port Said, 
of leaving the hive; it would have been much better to have sent 
them via Ceylon, and to have allowed them to remain there for a 
time. 
“ It is almost impossible to get an interpreter on the island of Java, 
and I therefore set to work to learn Malay enough for my purpose ; 
in the meantime the Director of the Department of Public Instruc¬ 
tion has placed at my disposal the services of a half-caste Malay who 
speaks a little Dutch ; the Malay language, however, is so easy that 
I was soon able to get on. 
“ In the Singapore Museum I saw two combs of Apis dorsata ; one 
was 2 feet in length and width, the other feet, and the parts which 
had been used for breeding were 1£ inch thick. A square inch con¬ 
tains about twenty cells, from which we may conclude that Apis 
dorsata is seven-eighths of an inch long, and is a comparatively more 
slender bee than ours. The two combs were still attached to pieces 
of the branches of the trees, from which they had been suspended in 
a perpendicular direction. Many credible persons who have seen 
Apis dorsata in the forests confirm the opinion I have always held, 
that the position of the combs which these bees construct is perpen¬ 
dicular and not horizontal, as maintained by Mr. Dathe and others 
(see 1 Dathe’s Directions for Breeding Foreign Races of Bees,’ pages 
4 to 6). 
It is my firm belief that it is possible to domesticate Apis dorsata, 
and that this bee will prove a valuable acquisition. 
“ The reports of the quantities of wax and honey said to have 
been obtained from Apis dorsata are simply marvellous. You will 
hardly credit the statement that thirty natives were laden with honey 
and wax taken from the bees on one tree, and yet its correctness is 
vouched for by a trustworthy person who had seen these bee-hunter3 
himself. Prom Bombay, Calcutta, Bengal, and Timor large quan¬ 
tities of wax are exported to other parts of the East Indies, chiefly 
to Java, where, according to reliable information, the consumption of 
wax amounts in value to about 2,000,000 rupees annually. It is 
chiefly used for polishing furniture and in dyeing the textile fabrics 
of the natives, the wax being spread over certain portions of the 
articles, while the unprotected parts are acted on by the dye. 
“ I start for Singapore to-morrow, and after a short stay there I 
shall proceed to Ceylon.* 
“ Yours truly, 
“ (Signed) Frank Benton.” 
The above letter is a valuable one as regards the history of bee¬ 
keeping. It affirms that Mr. Benton introduced Apis mellifica 
not only into Ceylon but also in Java, and it further states that 
Mr. Bykens’ attempt has proved a failure. 
Trieste , 20th April, 1881. (Signed) A. Schroder, jun. 
HOW TO MAKE MOST OF A STOCK IN A STRAW 
SKEP. 
In a former article to this Journal I mentioned a plan of stock¬ 
ing bar-frame hives from skeps, further details of which have been 
so frequently solicited that I take this opportunity of describing 
the practice in full. We are supposed to have a good stock in a 
skep or box which we desire in the simplest way to utilise mainly 
for increase, such increase to be in the form of bar-frame stocks. 
Of course any number of stocks may be similarly treated, but for 
simplicity we shall only take the case of one. 
During the spring months it may be supposed to have been fed 
and attended to so as to encourage early breeding, and that it is 
now in a crowded state. A bar-frame hive—a mere box with 
frames and floorboard will do temporarily—is prepared thus :— 
Five or six of the frames are filled in the usual manner with 
comb foundation and arranged at proper distances in the centre 
of the hive. Close-fitting division boards enclose the space these 
occupy, outside which either empty or sheeted frames are in¬ 
* Apis dorsata attaches its combs perpendicularly to the highest branches 
of trees and against projecting rocks, and it takes no trouble to conceal them. 
Near the coast and in the plains Apis dorsata is never seen on the wing ; it is 
only to be met with inland at a distance of some miles from the coast, where 
it settles in highland forests only, and at an elevation of about 1G00 metres 
(5260 feet). It seems to me as if Mr. Benton had searched for the dorsata in 
the forests of the plains and too near the coast. In highland forests only are 
colonies of Apis dorsata to be found in considerable number, like the nests of 
hornets in our own country. (Signed) VOQEL. 
serted merely to support the quilt in the meantime. For a 
quilt a square of any light cloth is taken the size of the hive top, 
and a larger square of waterproof material, such as oiled calico or 
enamelled cloth. Out of the centre of both a G-inch circular hole 
is cut, after which they are put in position, the outer waterproof 
covering being tacked over the edges of the hive so as to throw off 
rain. The hive thus prepared is placed on the stool from which 
the skep has just been lifted, and the latter, after a whiff of smoke, 
is lifted from its floorboard and set over the frames. The old 
entrance is at once closed, and the floorboard with its adhering 
bees set sloping against the new entrance. The latter should be 
contracted to 2 inches or so, which will soon raise the temperature 
inside sufficiently to compel the bees to spread themselves down¬ 
wards on the sheets of foundation. If an old sack be hung over 
the skep for a few days before this operation, and at once similarly 
hung over both the skep and its nadir, the bees will not be 
puzzled with the new entrance. This is the first step in the opera¬ 
tion. Meanwhile let us note its advantages. Unless swarming 
were actually imminent, and in most cases even although it were, 
it will be averted for the time being. The superabundant popula¬ 
tion, instead of clustering idly about the entrance, is set to the 
useful work of drawing out the cells on the sheets of foundation— 
a work no way exhaustive of their energy; and a set of combs are 
ensured of almost perfect quality, for they are drawn out before 
there is any excessive heat or weight of bees to sag or curl them. 
The bee-keeper must now prepare for the second stage of the 
operation—viz., dividing the twin stock thus formed. To make 
the most of his opportunity he must in some way or other get 
possession of a second fertile queen. No better opportunity can 
be found of introducing an imported Ligurian if such can be 
obtained. A week or longer may elapse before the crowded state 
of the doorway gives indication that the lower hive space is fully 
occupied. When this is the case the hive is gently removed 
to its old floorboard in a new location. The new combs are then 
lifted out and examined to ascertain the presence or absence 
of the queen. The presence of eggs and larvae is presump¬ 
tive evidence of her being on the new combs, but no doubt 
must be left on the subject. If neither eggs nor grubs are seen it 
is evidence that the stock is not ready for division, and the skep 
should be replaced for a few days ; but if these are found in some 
quantity it is quite safe to make the division. The queen then 
must be found. If not on the new combs, and it is desired to 
finish the operation at once, the bees must be driven from the 
skep, and if open driving be practised the queen will generally be 
found within five or ten minutes. Taking her gently by the 
wings let her go under the quilt of the frame hive. Replace the 
cut quilts by a whole one, and cover with some sort of roof. The 
driven bees should all be returned to the skep after settling it in 
its new location, and the strange queen caged for twenty-four 
hours under the feed hole in the top. On no account should the 
strange queen be given to the bees on the old stand, Mr. 
Cheshire’s advice on page 320 notwithstanding. I never knew a 
queen to be molested when introduced in the way I describe, but 
I have seen so many instances of failure by his method that I 
have come to regard success by it as the exception rather than the 
rule. The stock on the old stand is made up largely of old bees 
of the warrior class, which are always suspicious of a strange 
queen and generally ball her. She may be liberated after being 
caged twenty-four hours and is apparently received with joy, but a 
few hours after she is found to be again balled. I have known this 
caging and balling go on daily for eight days. The reason is 
obvious. For nearly a week bees from the removed stock will 
daily find their way back to the old stand. Some keen instinct 
informs them that the queen there found is not the one they parted 
with a few minutes before, and a single hostile act—may be the 
smell of ejected poison—seems to affect the whole stock, so that the 
balling is repeated. But when introduced into the removed hive, 
especially if driving has had to be resorted to, it will be found 
that she is generally accepted without any suspicion, and once 
accepted she may be regarded as safe from any further attack. 
These remarks hold true of all methods of artificial swarming 
when a strange queen has to be introduced. 
But to return to our stocks. More frames must be added to the 
new stock as fast as the bees can cover them, and food given if 
the weather is unpropitious. The skep should be left on its floor¬ 
board to recover itself for a few days, and be supplied with 
sweetened water to make up for the loss of its old water-carriers. 
So soon as it begins again to get crowded the whole operation is 
to be repeated. It may be regarded as good practice in an average 
season to get two bar-frame hives thus filled, and have a strong 
skep stock left; but I have known four strong new stocks thus 
formed and a large quantity of honey in supers taken from the 
earlier of these. 
