August 11 , 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 139 
high rocks or trees, which made their capture all hut impossible ; 
nevertheless, with a great deal of trouble and at the risk of my life 
I succeeded in obtaining two colonies which had settled on the rocks 
at a height of at least 100 feet from the ground. I afterwards caught 
two more colonies in trees. 
“The Apis dorsata ought to be classed among yellow-coloured bees 
(to which indeed all the three Indian species belong), as three of the 
rings under their wings are of an orange-yellow colour. This, and 
the contrast caused by the rest of the body being black and the 
wings bluish-black, accounts for their being very pretty bees. Their 
body in the live state is about seven-eighths of an inch long, but 
slender like the bodies of hornets. They are swift on the wing, and 
when angry they make a hissing noise exactly like angry hornets. 
Smoke causes them to leave their combs and frightens them very much. 
If you avoid shaking them or blowing against them it is possible to 
remove a handful of these bees from the cluster below without any 
danger of being stung; they leave the hand without doing any harm, 
and return to their combs. The least shaking, however, puts them 
into a rage, making them rush out like angry hornets in order to 
discover the disturber of their peace and to sting him. But they are 
rather clumsy in using their sting, and are therefore easily got rid of 
by a quick movement of the body. If a bee has stung, however, they 
appear in large numbers and pursue for a long distance, firmly deter¬ 
mined to make use of their sting. Put into hives with moveable 
frames and removed to the place where I had taken up my abode 
they at once behaved like domesticated bees, and properly treated 
they never attempted to sting, although I applied no smoke to the 
stocks during the few weeks they were under my care. As a matter 
of fact I never employed smoke when I examined my colonies, which 
was done almost every day when I was well, every comb being then 
taken out of the hive and replaced. Their sting is not larger than 
that of Apis mellifica ; in any case there is no appreciable difference 
between the two, and the sting of Apis dorsata is less painful. The 
tongue of the latter is only a little longer than that of Apis mellifica, 
although its body is half as large again. They appear to be indus¬ 
trious at their home in the forest, but they did not work so well in 
hives ; they seemed to think that I would continue feeding them. 
“ The drones are very hairy, and of quite a light grey or brown 
colour without the dark-blue-looking wings of the workers. They 
are reared in the same cells as the worker bees, twenty to the square 
inch (English measure) by 1J inch in thickness, and are therefore 
not longer than worker cells, though somewhat bigger. The bees do 
not commence their excursions until after sunset, and continue to fly 
out until it is quite dark, hence the belief of the natives that these 
bees collect honey during the night only. The queen is somewhat 
larger than the workers, but not extraordinarily large. I had much 
hard work and experienced some dangerous adventures in the attempt 
to obtain the four colonies. One day our company was attacked by a 
cheetah, which had been wounded by one of my men. A young lad 
who went to kill the beast with an axe sustained serious injuries 
inflicted by the teeth and claws of the enraged animal. We de¬ 
stroyed the cheetah, which otherwise would have killed the poor lad 
in a few moments. We had far advanced into the jungle where no 
surgical aid was obtainable, so I was obliged to dress his wounds as 
well as I could. The last news of him gave little hope of his ultimate 
recovery ; the hot weather, too, was against him. On another occa¬ 
sion a wild elephant tore an umbrella out of a man’s hand, and would 
have killed him if he had not quickly climbed upon a tree, where he 
remained a prisoner until the whole party arrived, when the elephant 
was frightened away by rifle shots. 
“ In order to secure the bees I had to climb upon rocks and into 
trees, which was very dangerous work. Two of my colonies were 
taken from ‘ Bamberagalle ’ or Apis dorsata rocks. We had to climb 
up perpendicular rocks by means of ladders improvised by tying 
together several poles and crosspieces until we were able to reach the 
highest point. The walls were perpendicular on all sides down to the 
base of the rock, more than 100 feet below us. Further down in the 
valley white clouds appeared, while the stars and the moon were 
shining above us. At this place, surrounded by semi-savages and 
half-naked men, I obtained these remarkable bees. After all this 
labour and danger I was attacked by fever, caused by having been 
exposed in the rain during a thunderstorm in the night while I was 
on a high tree in the forest for the purpose of catching bees. 
“ I may explain here that I consider the night the most suitable 
time to catch these bees. By applying a little smoke I soon made 
them manageable. 
“ When I was taken ill I was far away in the primeval forest. As I 
did not get better in the course of three or four days I was obliged to 
walk to the nearest road, a distance of several miles. Thence I 
travelled some miles on a cart until I reached a village, where I was 
able to take the mail coach, which took me to the nearest railway 
station at a further distance of twelve miles. I at length reached 
Colombo, having suffered greatly on the journey. When the fever 
left me a few days afterwards, after I had taken some powerful doses 
of quinine, I was in a very weak state. All this time my bees had 
been very much neglected, and when I went on board the French 
steamer they were not in a fit state for the voyage. In the Red Sea 
I had another attack of fever, but arrived in Beirut at last. Singu¬ 
larly enough the bees were still alive, although their number had 
decreased considerably. During my stay at Beirut, where I had to 
wait thirteen days for a steamer to take me across to Cyprus, they 
dwindled away, and I have now only dead specimens left of Apis 
dorsata. 
“ I have, however, still one colony of Apis florea, which remain in 
good condition. 
“ From what I have seen of Apis dorsata, I am inclined to think it 
very questionable whether these bees are as productive as Apis 
mellifica, though I have found 40 to 50 lbs. of honey in one stock. 
“ I send you a bottle of these bees ; please take some out for your¬ 
self and forward the remainder to Mr. E. Cori* 
(Signed) “ Frank Benton.” 
* This letter is addressed to Mr. A. Schroder, jun. The Editor is very much 
obliged to Mr. Schroder for kindly sending it to him. 
“ All bee-keepers will regret with me Mr. Benton’s failure. Even if Apis dor¬ 
sata had not been of any immediate value to bee-keepers in Europe there can be 
no doubt it would have contributed materially to enlarge the theory of bee¬ 
keeping. The dorsata being a species of the genus Apis, the cross-breed of dor¬ 
sata and mellifica would be real hybrids. The study of these hybrid bees would 
not only have enriched science, but from reasons easily to be guessed they would 
also have been of practical importance, producing larger bees, &c. At the meet¬ 
ing in Breslau I expressed myself decidedly against the expenditure of large 
sums of money for the purpose of procuring Apis dorsata, because I know 
positively that this bee does not prosper in our summer, and is quite unable to 
survive our winter. In the interest of science, however, I trust that no oppor¬ 
tunity may be lost to procure Apis dorsata for us if it can be done without 
incurring heavy expense ; for example, through a traveller, a missionary, &c. 
I shall be happy to give anyone interested in this matter full information as to 
how this bee may be introduced into our country and kept here. 
(Signed) “W. Vogel.” 
TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 
W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, London.— Catalogue of Bulls. 
Hogg & Robertson, 22, Mary Street, Dublin.— Catalogue of Hya¬ 
cinths and other Bulbs. 
Todd & Co., 7, Maitland Street, Edinburgh.— Catalogue of Bulbs. 
Dammann & Co., Portici, near Naples, Italy.— Wholesale Catalogue 
of Vegetable and Flower Seeds, and Bulbs. 
New Melon ( W. &).—The fruit you have sent is a little over-ripe, and its 
flavour would have been better a few days ago. The rind is smooth, pale 
orange in colour, and very thin, the flesh being also pale. It is extremely juicy, 
sweet, and refreshing, but not of rich flavour. It will probably be a useful 
Melon, but is not likely to take high rank among the best varieties. Its fault 
is a deficiency of flavour and a too large seed cavity. 
Disfigured Maple Leaves (Z. (7.).—These are covered with minute galls, 
produced by a mite allied to those described in the last article upon garden 
insects. The particular species attacking the Maple is named Phytoptus 
myriadeum ; it is nearly allied to the species common on the Sycamore or 
Plane. A peculiar circumstance with these galls is, that they are crowded 
together in some of the leaves to a degree which checks their development. 
Cucumber Seed from Diseased Plants (II. Hoskins ).—Though we 
are not prepared to state positively that seed saved from diseased plants will 
perpetuate the disease so that it will appear in the progeny, yet we think it 
likely that seed saved from such plants will be imperfectly developed, and the 
plants resulting will be weak and more susceptible of attack by disease than 
plants from seed of healthful plants. We certainly should not save seed from 
diseased plants. 
Bouvardia Treatment (Idem).—To grow these plants satisfactorily 
and have them flower in the winter they require an intermediate temperature, or 
55° to 65°, and 70° to 75° from sun heat. Cuttings of half-ripened growths 
strike freely in spring in gentle bottom heat. Pot off the cuttings singly when 
rooted, growing them near the glass where there is a genial temperature. Stop 
them when a few inches high, and again when about 4 inches of growth has been 
made. When the plants are strong plant them in a bed of turfy loam in a frame, 
keeping them well supplied with water, and ventilating freely in favourable 
weather, withdrawing i he lights about the middle of July until the middle of 
September, then lift the plants carefully, and pot in 7 or 8-inch pot3 in good 
loam. 
Paradise Stocks (B. /.).—There are several stocks called Paradise stocks 
They are all varieties of Apples of more or less dwarf and slender growth, and 
arrive at a blossoming state early. This precociousness they in a great measure 
transmit to the varieties of Apples that are grafted on them, and hence are used 
largely by nurserymen. 
Calceolarias Dying (77. A.).—You will do well to obtain cuttings of 
Calceolarias from a healthy stock, and insert them in cold frames early in 
October. Your plants are exhausted and incurable. Further, your soil does not 
appear to be suitable for Calceolarias, and you will find trenching lb inches or 
more deep, placing 6 inches in thickness of good manure at the bottom of each 
trench, beneficial. If the plants are well prepared this will sustain them 
throughout the season, and they will remain healthy. 
Roses Unhealthy (Idem ).—'The spots and perforation of the leaves are 
the result of a shrinking of the tissue, and the cause of this is poverty of the 
soil and drought. The soil in which the Roses are trying to grow should be 
saturated with liquid manure now ; and in the winter, if the surface soil can be 
removed and rich compost and a covering of manure added, healthier growth 
and finer blooms will follow—that is, if pruning is done properly and no insects 
are permitted on the plants. 
