434 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



explained by the fact that Texas produces 

 larg-e atnounts of honey from plants and 

 trees grown in the semi-arid districts. When 

 water is once let on to these lands, they will 

 at once g-row fruit. Then Texas will come 

 forward as one of the great fruit-growing- 

 states of the Union. 



Serious Regults from Beeslmgg ; whalt 



Mr. Ciiadwick, in this issue, page 437, 

 in his department, tells of an experience 

 that " came near being a tragedy " in his 

 home. His wife, always more or less sus- 

 ceptible to the effects of beesting poison, 

 was, on the occasion mentioned, stung by a 

 bee just back of the ear (a bad place by the 

 way). As she had been stung several times 

 prior to this, without any serious results, 

 she liad not taken i^ains to keep away from 

 the bees. But this time the sting had more 

 than its old-time effects. A doctor was 

 called, and soon she was out of danger. She 

 was left in a weakened condition, however, 

 and remained in bed for the rest of the 

 day. This was very wise, as absolute quiet 

 ■ — at least no bodily exertion — should fol- 

 low after a case of severe stinging. 



We once had a case where a young man 

 was stung a great many times. He became 

 di;^zy, and broke out in blotches. He was 

 given a heart stimulant, and apparently 

 revived. He took a tepid bath, and felt so 

 much better that he said he did not see why 

 he could not go back to work. After he 

 had got his blood warmed up he had a 

 fainting-spell, became unconscious, and his 

 heart action had all but stopped. Fortu- 

 nately we w^ere at hand with an automobile, 

 and rushed him up to the doctor at the limit 

 of its speed. The great volumes of fresh 

 air partly revived him, but it was evident 

 he was in a serious condition. The doctor 

 gave him a heart stimulant, and directed us 

 to take him to a quiet place where he 

 could get fresh air. We put a small elec- 

 tric fan in front of his face, and in a short 

 time he was revi\ed enough so he could talk 

 to his friends. 



The doctor afterward, in speaking of the 

 incident, made this statement — that after 

 one has been stung, or has received a gen- 

 eral shock like this on the heart, the patient 

 should be quiet for several hours. It was 

 very important also that he do no work 

 requiring bodily exertion for several days. 

 After about two weeks we took this man to 

 a specialist in Cleveland, and he reported 

 he was in as good condition as ever. But 

 it was evident that lie had received a tem- 

 porary shock. 



Two or three times when we have publish- 

 ed accounts of severe stings, some of our 

 subscribers have come back at us that we 

 should suppress the facts. We do not be- 

 lieve in anything of the kind. Beekeepers 

 and others should be warned. Fortunately 

 thei'e is not one in a hundred thousand who 

 is seriously affected by stings. Indeed, we 

 may sa}^ we hear of hardly one in a million. 

 All the newspapers in the country put to- 

 gether do not report one case of severe 

 stinging in a year, in a i^opulation of about 

 a hundred million. This shows that the 

 average person has little to fear from one 

 sting. 



Our junior editor, Mr. H. H. Root, was 

 at one time very susceptible to the effects of 

 a single sting. He, too, would have faint- 

 ing-spells and attacks of dizziness. On 

 several occasions we were greatly alarmed, 

 but he always managed to pull through. He 

 had an ambition to follow in the footsteps 

 of his father and brother. The last men- 

 tioned suggested the scheme of gradual 

 immunization. This was accomplished as 

 follows : 



A bee was picked off a comb, and pressed 

 gently against his hand. Just the moment 

 that the sting pricked the skin, and before 

 any considerable amount of poison could 

 get into the wound, the bee and the sting 

 were quickly removed. This was repeated 

 a week afterward. At the end of four or 

 iive weeks there was an uncomfortable 

 itching sensation. The hypodermic injec- 

 tions were then discontinued for several 

 months and then resumed again. After- 

 ward the patient got so he could take two 

 sting pricks a week, then three, and finally 

 it was discovered he could take the full 

 effects of a sting without any inconvenience. 

 It was not long before he went among the 

 bees, and handled them as did his older 

 brother. On one occasion when we went 

 out together with a load of bees one hive 

 was spilled overboard, releasing a lot of 

 bees. The two of us each got something 

 like thirty stings; and, remarkable to relate, 

 the younger brother experienced no more 

 harm than the older brother. He is to-day 

 as immune as any of us. 



To provide against a possible recurrence 

 we suggest that Mr. Chadwick try out the 

 sarne scheme on his wife. He should be 

 very careful, however, to see that the first 

 sting prick is only a prick, and that all 

 subsequent sting pricks for a considerable 

 time should merely pierce the skin. Suitable 

 tweezers should be provided so that the 

 poison-sac will never be squeezed in remov- 

 ing the sting. 



