Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Sept.,  1887- 
Natural  Euealyptated  Honey. 
471 
NATURAL  EUCALYPTATED  HONEY.1 
Dr.  Thomas  Caraman,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Academie  de 
MMecine,  January  25th,  1887  (Le  Progres  Medical,  April  16th, 
1887),  says  that  on  May  25th,  1884,  M.  D.  Guilmeth,  the  French 
explorer  and  naturalist,  then  in  Tasmania,  in  the  centre  of  Australia, 
came  upon  a  large  opening  traversed  by  a  shallow  stream  of  water, 
upon  the  banks  of  which  grew  eucalyptus  trees  of  from  260  to 
390  feet  in  height.  He  noticed  in  the  topmost  branches  of  one  of 
these  trees  an  odd-looking  dumpy  hut  with  a  dome-like  roof,  whose 
brownish  exterior  recalled  the  mud-coverings  of  our  own  country. 
It  was  3  P.  M.,  and  the  thermometer  stood  at  64°  F.  in  the  shade. 
Unable  to  make  out  what  it  was,  and  it  being  impossible  to  climb  the 
tree,  he  determined  to  wait  and  watch.  About  4.30,  he  heard  a 
continued  far  off  buzzing  sound  and  saw  an  immense  swarm  of 
black  insects,  smaller  than  our  bees,  flying  around  an  opening  in  the 
hive.  These  bees  were  of  a  kind  unknown  to  him.  He  had  seen  the 
Australians  when  sick  sweeten  their  beverages  with  a  kind  of  honey 
which  had  not  attracted  his  attention.  Consequently,  the  discovery 
awakened  his  interest,  and  he  set  two  carpenters  to  sawing  down  the 
tree,  which  was  finished  the  next  day.  The  tree  was  nearly  twenty- 
three  feet  in  diameter.  When  the  tree  fell,  M.  Guilmeth  and  some  of 
his  attendants,  having  covered  their  faces  and  hands,  advanced  towards 
the  hive,  beating  upon  the  tambourines  of  the  country.  The  queen 
soon  flew  away  followed  by  most  of  her  subjects.  M.  Guilmeth 
examined  the  honey,  and  found  that  it  was  charged  with  the  active 
principles  of  the  eucalyptus.  He  collected  3,500  kilogrammes  of 
honey.  He  has  cut  down  trees  in  which  were  hives  or  nests  weighing 
6,000  kilogrammes  and  yielding  5,000  kilogrammes  of  honey. 
We  have  not  been  able  to  find  a  description  of  this  black  bee.  He 
calls  it  the  Apis  nigra-mellifica.  It  is  black  and  small ;  its  tongue  or 
trumpet  appears  to  be  much  more  developed  than  that  of  our  working 
bees  of  France  and  Algiers.  He  has  attempted,  without  success,  to 
domesticate  it  in  Tasmania.  It  has  also  been  attempted  to  make  the 
bees  of  Algiers  swarm  in  the  neighborhood  of  eucalyptus  plantations, 
and  by  this  rational  means  to  obtain  a  particular  honey.  The  native 
bees,  however,  when  they  have  access  only  to  the  flowers  and  leaves 
of  the  eucalyptus,  die  one  by  one. 
translated  by  R.  M.  Slaughter,  M.  D.    Reprinted  from  Virginia  Medical 
Monthly,  July. 
