82 



HA RD WICKE'S S CIENCE- G OSS IP. 



After a moment's silence, he enquired, " Now, 

 could / do that ? " 



My answer did not encourage him to try the 

 experiment. "Certainly, if you wish, but they will 

 possibly, nay, probably, sting you." 



"But tell me — if you can do it, why can't I — why 

 can't any or everybody else ? " 



It is possible that, with my friend, many readers, 

 who may also be bee-keepers, would like to know 

 my secret ; know how they may pass unscathed 

 through an army of bees ; may introduce an ungloved 

 hand into the midst of a thickly peopled hive — in 

 fact, may manipulate with the tiny creatures as 

 though they were but bits of cork or feathers. Let 

 me at once assure such that, although quite un- 

 protected, I move and operate amongst my petted 

 host, I yet possess no secret charm ; that my skill is 

 no greater than that of a large number of bee masters. 

 Rigidly observe but two rules, and success in 

 manipulating with bees is, with few exceptions, 

 assured. They may be made as much pets of as 

 dogs or birds. The first is, ever to deal as gently as 

 possible with them. Never jar, jolt, shake, or other- 

 wise disturb or irritate them. The second is, make 

 them become as familiar as possible with your person. 

 In dealing with them it is essential that it should 

 ever be borne in mind that, although they have many 

 enemies, they have but one weapon of defence, their 

 sting ; which is never used, as the bee believes, 

 unnecessarily — its effectual use meaning certain death 

 to the devoted possessor. Some persons assert that, 

 if a bee be not disturbed, he will withdraw his sting 

 without injury to himself. I can as confidently assert , 

 that he cannot. 



Show that you are not a foe, but a friend, and you 

 need never fear being stung, that is to say, not 

 intentionally. I use this word advisedly, because, 

 the slightest pressure on the creature's abdomen is 

 sufficient to project its weapon, and should the inside 

 of a sleeve or collar be selected as a snug retreat, the 

 almost certain result will be the tiny puncture which 

 the timid so much dread. 



"It's all very well," some novice may exclaim, 

 "it's all very well saying show yourself to be a 

 friend, but how am I to do this ? When I approach 

 my bees too closely I am invariably beset." 



Let me say that all depends upon the way in which 

 each individual beekeeper's approaches towards 

 friendship are made. 



When I commenced bee-keeping, some few years 

 since, I had but two stocks ; I have now fifty ; and 

 being, of course, as all novices are in any new 

 pursuit, enthusiastic, it was my chief delight to seat 

 myself upon the hive bench between the hives, to 

 watch the proceedings of the busy little workers. 

 To familiarise them with my person, I frequently 

 gently placed a hand upon an alighting board, and 

 although it might sometimes be covered with bees, I 

 never withdrew it on that account, and finding, after 



careful examination, that no danger was to be 

 apprehended, they would re-enter the hive. In no 

 instance was I stung. To the present day, I occasion- 

 ally, too, adopt the following plan. However 

 seemingly indifferent to the presence of a stranger, or 

 foreign body, they may be when the work of the hive 

 is in full swing, and the light of day reveals that 

 presence, it is quite a different matter when the 

 object can be but imperfectly seen in the dusk of 

 evening. Disturb a hive then, and instantly the 

 contented hum of the fanners is hushed, and not one, 

 nor two, but many brave defenders of the hive issue 

 forth, to discover the cause of the disturbance ; some- 

 times scores, nay, in hot weather even hundreds rush 

 out, and should it be the bee-keeper's hand placed 

 before the mouth of the hive it will be instantly 

 covered with bees, eager to inspect every part of it, 

 and, if possible, learn its nature. The arm, both 

 outside and inside the coat sleeve, will be ascended, 

 and a few more inquisitive than their fellows will 

 probably cross the shoulders, and descending the 

 disengaged arm will, if it be placed upon the hive, 

 return to their home by this route. It requires some 

 little moral courage to remain immovable whilst the 

 alert insects thus perambulate one's person. Some 

 short time since, I was kept a prisoner for upwards 

 of twenty minutes before the last of my pets took 

 his departure. 



I must here plead guilty to a practice much depre- 

 cated by many bee-keepers, nor have I found that 

 any evil result has followed. Of course I exercise a 

 reasonable amount of judgment as to time, place, &c, 

 having far too great a regard for my pets to imperil 

 their safety simply for the gratification of a whim. 

 I allude to occasional open-air feeding — to me a 

 source of pleasure — to my friends of wonderment. 

 Always choosing a warm spring or summer day, I 

 select a sunny spot in my garden or orchard, some 

 distance removed from my hives, and place on the 

 ground an open pan or dish filled with syrup, upon 

 the surface of which float strips of perforated wood 

 or cork, to prevent danger to the bees. Not long 

 have I to wait, for in and near an apiary they are 

 ever skimming the surface of the ground, and visiting 

 plant and flower in search of honey and polltn. 

 Sometimes immediately, occasionally after the lapse 

 of two or three minutes, a sharp-scented bee alights, 

 and after taking his fill of the luscious feast, flies 

 home. Meanwhile, probably, two or three others 

 have also been gathering a supply ; whether or not, 

 the first will certainly soon return, quickly followed 

 by some of his brethren. Half-a-dozen soon becomes- 

 a score, these soon increase to hundreds, until, as 

 the news spreads, the air becomes filled with bees, 

 all bound to or from, or in search of, the store. 

 Should the supply be a long continued one, there is 

 no limit to the vast horde, and when at last it 

 becomes exhausted, the vessel is found to contain a 

 seething mass of black bodies and glittering wings,. 



