THE GUIDE TO NATURE 





A Remarkable Demonstration in the 

 Handling of Bees. 



BY EDWARD F. BIGELOW. REPRINTED FROM 



^GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE," 



MEDINA, OHIO. 



For several years I have been mak- 

 ing demonstrations in various parts of 

 the country in the handling of bees 

 without needing gloves, smoke, or 

 other protective device. I have at last 

 achieved the climax in such demonstra- 

 tions. I do not know what more can 

 be done. I regret that I have no pho- 

 tograph to show the demonstration. I 

 would have engaged a photographer 

 if I had known that it was going to be 

 so remarkable. 



In the early part of September, I 

 was instructor at the teachers' institute 

 in Tell City, Indiana. In the course 

 of my work I lectured on honeybees, 

 and obtained a colony that a local bee- 

 keeper placed on the grounds near the 

 schoolhouse. This was a fairly strong 

 colony, though it had not been in the 

 hive very long, having been taken as 

 a swarm only three weeks previously. 

 I made the usual demonstration after 

 massing the teachers around the hive, 

 opening it and requesting a few to 

 hold frames and to study the move- 

 ments of the bees. This was done in 

 the forenoon. At noon intermission 

 a few teachers requested me to repeat 

 it, and to show them the frames, bees, 

 eggs, and larvae. I told them that the 

 colony was gentle, and (with care) 

 could be safely handled. But some 

 who had known bees at home said that 

 I had hypnotized those bees, or done 

 something else to them, because I had 

 shown a few of the teachers how to 

 take them in their bare hands. They 

 said that no one else could do that. 



In the afternoon a large number of 

 visitors were present at the regular 

 session, and at the recess the same 



question was brought up, the teachers 

 and the visitors requesting informa- 

 tion about my method of hypnotizing 

 those bees. What was the secret? I 

 made this announcement : "After our 

 regular afternoon session I will make 

 the most remarkable demonstration 

 ever made in this country. I will act 

 by proxy, so that you cannot say that 

 I do any thing to the bees, or that I 

 have any peculiar influence over them.'' 

 From the visitors present I selected 

 a small boy and a girl neither of 

 whom had had any experience with 

 honeybees. I selected four, tall young 

 men, and requested them to remove 

 their coats and roll the shirtsleeves 

 to their shoulders. I asked for 

 eight volunteers from among the 

 young ladies who had low-necked 

 dresses and bare arms. The ladies 

 were requested to push their sleeves 

 to their shoulders. I directed the en- 

 tire company to go on the campus and 

 arrange themselves in a circle around 

 the hive. I should say that there were 

 350 people present. I stood back in 

 the crowd and had the eight women 

 arranged in a row near the hive and 

 the four young men in front of them. 

 I sent the little boy and the little girl 

 to the hive to remove the cover and 

 pass the frames to the young men, who 

 were to search for the queen and to 

 give that frame to me. I returned it 

 to the hive. The other nine frames 

 were divided among the four young 

 men, most of them holding two, one 

 holding three. They held these frames 

 above the young ladies' heads, and at 

 a signal of one, two, three, they shook 

 the entire contents of that hive over 

 the eight young ladies. I confess that 

 my heart was in my mouth when I 

 gave that signal. I thought at the 

 very best that there was no great thing 

 to be gained, and there would be a 



