826 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Nov. 



Well done, friends. 1 am exceedingly 

 obliged to you all, and especially to onr 

 bright, keen, close-thinking friend Hasty, 

 lie says he has not only discovered what 

 [ liave so long told you, that looking at the 

 spot, and thinking about it, makes it worse, 

 but he ventures an explanation of this phe- 

 nomenon. Oui' good friend Doolittle also 

 tells us we can dance around and groan, if 

 we want to. It always seems to help me 

 to twist around and make wry faces, and re- 

 lieve my feelings by talking back to the 

 little rascals ; but I never knew befoie that 

 anybody else was in the habit of doing so. 

 IniMgine our great big portly friend Doolit- 

 tle taking a little dance all by himself out in 

 the apiary ! I wonder if it has ever occurred 

 to him that dancing is usually considered 

 not quite the thing for a good orthodox 

 church-member like himself. I presume, 

 however, there would be no objection to 

 dancing all alone by one's self. Friend 

 Hutchinson is very positive that he has ob- 

 tained relief from the tincture of plantain. 

 But the thing that troubles me is, how did 

 anybody discover that the tincture of plan- 

 tain is good, when there is such a great mul- 

 titude of herbs to make tinctures from? 

 How did anybody happen to think of plan- 

 tain? or is the virtue in the alcohol, without 

 any plantain about it? I know that plan- 

 tain has been recommended for bee-stings, 

 but I have chewed it to see if it had any 

 astringent or alkaline or other property, but 

 I could discover nothing peculiar about it. 

 I know this strikes right squarely on the 

 whole (|uestion of using herbs for medicine : 

 and I confess I have never had any satisfac- 

 toiy proof that herbs ever do any good what- 

 ever. During my last visit to Prof. Cook's 

 I asked him the question ))oint blank, 

 •• Friend Cook, do you believe that catnip 

 and other like herbs have any virtue what- 

 ever in curing disease? '' Please remember 

 that I'rof. Cook teaches physiology right 

 straight along, every day, to his pupils ; and 

 his reply was to the effect that catnip and 

 other similar herbs neither do good nor 

 harm. Of coiirse, the hot water taken with 

 the catnip relieves pain many times. Prof. 

 Cook says his students are sure that ammo- 

 nia gives relief. Well, my own wife is also 

 sure that saleratus and water is good for 

 bee-stings, and Caddie presumed to have an 

 opinion directly against her papa, in this 

 very matter. She had used saleratus and 

 water on a bee-sting, and it got better, 

 therefo)e saleratus and water must have 

 made it better. We all know the efficiency 

 of tobacco in killing insects, and therefore 

 it may be that a (juid of tobacco laid upon 

 the flesh has sufficient poison in it to produce 

 some effect on the bee-sting ; but I hope 

 Prof. Cook will excuse me for saying that I 

 am not satisfied that even tobacco affects a 

 bee-sting one way or the other. 



',)H('.stiou JSio. l.'i.—Do you make it a practice to 

 wear a veil when at work among' the bees ? It' so, 

 do you think it afivisat)le to dispense with its use at 

 any time ? 



I always use a veil. 1 would advise no one to 

 work amonfr bees witho\it it. PArr. L. Viai,lon. 



Yes. Wire hat. Always have cause for deep re- 

 gret when r leave it otf. Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I do when the bees are cross. 1 dispense with its 

 use during- the honey-flow. W. z. Hutchinson. 



Yes, always. T don't want bees crawling over my 

 face and neck, even if they never sting. 



G. M. UOOLITTI.K. 



Not usually; but when the bees are cross. At 

 such times it certainly is an advantage, for it saves 

 the lives of the bees. Dr. A. B. Mason. 



^'es, almost always. I do not think it is advisable 

 for any one to leave oft the use of a veil who suffers 

 as much pain from bee-stings as I do. 



O. O. POPPLETON. 



When the bees are not gathering, but not during 

 the harvest. I should advise the young bee-keeper 

 to use a veil till he feels easy to leave it off. 



A. J. Cook. 



Yes. 1 often dispense with its use, but never 

 want to be without one on my hat, ready to pul I 

 down at a moment's warning. If I had only a few 

 colonies, t should care less foi- a veil. 



('. C. Miller. 



Yes. We dispense with its use when the bees are 

 <iuiet, but have it always on hand. If you wish to 

 make bee culture practical you must be prepared to 

 stand your ground with the most vicious colony, 

 and a few stings in the lace will vani|uish the bold- 

 est apiarist. Dauant&Son. 



I scarcely ever wear a \ eil when at work with the 

 bees. We supply veils for the boys and for visitors. 

 After one of the boys has worked for us two jears 

 he scarcely ever puts on a veil. In hot weather 

 veils arc burdensome and warm, and obstruct the 

 eyesight. 1 would rathei' lie s^tung a few times than 

 wear a veil. Some days 1 don't g(>t stung at all. 



K. FlJANX'K. 



1 usually wear a veil— in desperate cases a Ku- 

 Klu.v robe that goes " all over the child." If one is 

 well inured to stings, the \<'U may be laid away 

 while general good nature reigns among the bees— 

 also while working under a tent, which seems to 

 impress the bees in such a way that the3' seldom at- 

 tack. Beginners who would I. e disabled from work 

 by a sting in the face had better not expose their 

 faces. K. E. Hastv. 



1 do. I know that a part of the time they are not 

 needed; but as I use a strong black bobinet veil, 

 stitched fast to a special bee-hat, and that veil is of 

 such material that it obstructs the vision so little 

 that I almost always wear it. When among bees in 

 the country I have ridden miles with the veil on, 

 forgetting to remove it. Use or non-use depends 

 upon proper quality and adjustment. 



,lAMt;s Heddon. 



In earlier life I rarely used a veil. My long hair 

 and beard protected my ears, neck, and most of my 

 face; then b.i^ holding my face downward a little, 

 stings iji the face were mostly avoided. If a bee 

 got tangled in my hair I could easily crush him with 

 my thumb and finger, liater, since I wear specta- 

 cles, when a bee attacks me in the eyes I am liable 

 to either damage my glasses or get a sting while in 

 the act of taking my glasses out of the way; conse- 

 quently I wear a ^•eil, and out mj- hair short like 

 other folks. R.Wilkin. 



