STINGS. 



409 



STINGS. 



them. The same thing is true of alcohol. 

 Returning to the subject under considera- 

 tion, we reasoned that, if one who is very se- 

 riously affected by bee-sting poison would 

 just merely prick himself with a sting and 

 then brush it oft before it has had time to 

 throw much of its virus into the wound, 

 the after-effects would not be very serious; 

 and that if the dose were repeated some 

 four or Ave days afterward, or about the 

 time the effect of the previous sting had 

 passed away, one could, by continuing this 

 process, ultimately apply the dose at more 

 frequent intervals until in time his system 

 would be no more affected than that of an 

 ordinary person. 



An interesting case came under observa- 

 tion, and we will relate the circumstances 

 which may help others. A boy in our neigh- 

 borhood, when stung, became so affected 

 that his body would break out in great red 

 blotches; his breathing grow difficult, and 

 his heart begin to pound like a sledge ham- 

 mer. It was really a question whether there 

 was not danger of losing his life. Never- 

 theless he was very desirous of engaging in 

 bee-keeping, and determined to work with 

 them. We tinally suggested taking a live bee 

 and pressing it on the back of his hand until 

 it merely pierced his skin with the sting, 

 then immediately brush off both bee and 

 sting. This was done; and since no serious 

 effect followed it was repeated inside of four 

 or five days. This was continued for some 

 three or four weeks, when the patient began 

 to have a sort of itching sensation all over 

 his body. The hypodermic injections of bee- 

 sting poison were then discontinued. At 

 the end of a month they were repeated at 

 intervals of four or five days. Again after 

 two or three weeks the itching sensation 

 came on, but it was less pronounced. The 

 patient was given a rest of about a month, 

 when the doses were repeated as before. 

 He then went to school and was not back 

 for eight or nine months. On his return 

 the applications were given again, when it 

 was plainly noticealile that the after effects 

 were becoming markedly less. lie then went 

 out into the bee-yard and was stung occa- 

 sionally, but, beyond a small swelling local- 

 ly, there was no unpleasant effect However, 

 as a matter of precaution when he went 

 among the bees he always wore a veil and 

 heavy gloves; for the stings, after passing 

 through these goods would retain only slight 

 effect. 



Some months afterward he was assisting 

 one of our men at one of our yards, when. 



without warning, a colony of bees that was 

 being dissected made a most furious attack 

 on both the men. The young man who had 

 Ijeen taking the immunizing doses of bee- 

 virus received, he estimates, ten or a dozen 

 stings all over his body. He had no veil 

 nor gloves, for the other man was doing 

 the work with the bees. He expected se- 

 rious consequences; but, greatly to his sur- 

 prise and gratification, no unpleasant ef- 

 fects followed. What was more, there was 

 no swelling. Now, remember that this per- 

 son used to be so seriously affected that a 

 single sting would cause his parents to 

 worry, as they feared he would not be able 

 to survive the attack. He now handles bees 

 with the same freedom that any experienced 

 bee-keeper does. 



HOW TO AVOID BEING STUNG. 



Some may imagine that it is necessary for 

 one who keeps bees to endure the pain 

 of being stung several times every day. A 

 lady once said that she could never stand it 

 to have her husband keep 100 colonies, for 

 she got stung four or five times a day from 

 only a dozen, while 30 or 40 stings a day would 

 be more than she could possibly bear. We 

 could take any one of you into an api- 

 ary of 100 colonies, and have you assist us 

 all day long, without your getting a single 

 sting. Nay, further : if you are very timid, 

 and can not bear a single sting, by taking 

 some pains you may be able to work day 

 after day, without being stung at all. The 

 apiary must be properly cared for, no robbing 

 allowed, and you must do exactly as we tell 

 you. See Angek of Bees. In the first 

 place, avoid standing right in front of any 

 hive. We are often very much tried by 

 visitors (some of them bee-keepers, too, 

 who ought to know better), because they will 

 stand right before the entrance until they 

 have a small swarm scolding them because 

 they can not get out and in the hive, and then 

 wonder why so many bees are buzzing about 

 in that particular spot. If you should go 

 into a factory, and stand in the way of the 

 workmen until a dozen of them were blocked 

 up with their arms full of boards and finish- 

 ed work, you would be pretty apt to be told 

 to get out of the way. Now, you are to exer- 

 cise the same common sense in an apiary. 

 By watching flying bees you can tell at once 

 their path through the air, and then keep 

 out of their way. Right back of any hive is 

 a pretty safe place to stand. 



One of the first things to learn is to know 

 whether a bee is angry or not, by the sounds 

 it makes. You should all know bv the hum 



