The new bees, which I think are also found in India and many of the East India Islands (in which case East India bees would seem to me an appropriate name), are real beauties. The workers are 3/8 of an inch long, and build worker comb 5/8 of an inch thick, 36 cells to the square inch. The drone comb is exactly the size, and like worker comb made by the bees already in Europe and America. The workers are brown with a very ringed abdomen, the bands to the tip of the body being broadly marked with yellow, and thorax very fuzzy, with a large shield between the wings; the drones are black, inclining to a blue-black, and are ½ of an inch long; the queens are leather-colored, and large compared with the workers. These bees are very active, wonderful breeders, regular little beauties, and can be handled without the least smoke, scarcely ever offering to sting. It is a pity I cannot get more of them during my stay.
I am determined to find out whether _Apis dorsata_ is to be found here, if time will permit, and if two more races I have heard of here really do exist. I am now where a few shillings of railway fare will bring me to the interior of the Island. More by next mail, with samples of bees and comb.
I have had a horrible time getting stung with large hornets while in the jungles. It laid me up for one whole day. These are fearful fellows, worse than those in Cyprus.
☞ There are five Wednesdays in March—hence, the next number sent to Semi-Monthly subscribers will be No. 14.
☞ We can supply but a few more of the back numbers to new subscribers. If any want them, they must be sent for soon.
☞ One letter sometimes makes quite a difference in the meaning of a sentence. Mr. L. James calls attention to an error in his article on page 34, in the 4th line from the bottom—the word hiving is there given as “hiding.” As the sense indicated the word required, perhaps it was not generally noticed.
☞ The past week has been noted for snow storms, not only in America but also in Europe, where a winter of unusual severity is reported, with deep snows and steady frosts for months together. This winter will have a place in history, as being among the most severe as well as of the longest duration. Not alone have the bees suffered by it, but cattle, sheep, hogs, etc., have perished by the thousand from the prevalence of blizzards and deep snows.