686 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 15 



and from which she kicked herself clear. 

 With some binding--wire the thills were 

 made to hold together, and man, horse, and 

 buggy went to town as usual. 



I had a Bell telephone in the house; but, 

 unfortunately, it had not been connected, 

 and so I could not be reached. When I ar- 

 rived home about half past five I heard a 

 high key in the apiary, and, to my conster- 

 nation, I saw something had happened. 

 There was the buggy, out of which a horse 

 had evidently kicked itself free; there were 

 the hives, in pieces and splinters; parts of 

 covers, chunks of honey, and robbing ga- 

 lore. I rushed to the house to inquire, but 

 found it locked. I went to the back door, 

 and found numerous blood-spots on the back 

 porch. Something surely had happened. 

 I then began to think about my only boy, 

 and wondered whether or not my wife had 

 taken him to town, for the boy was fond of 

 driving said horse, as it is very gentle. I 

 managed to get in at the back door, and 

 there found the dog with his leg bandaged 

 up, and then it was all clear so far as the 

 blood was concerned. Pretty soon Mrs. 

 Root came in from picking berries, and 

 made some "remarks" about my not hav- 

 ing the telephone connected; and a while 

 after the boy came in to tell his story. 



But how ajiy horse or any man could have 

 received the stings that the two did, and 

 live, is beyond my comprehension. Mr. 

 Harrington did not take any salt nor any 

 thing else; but he said nothing would kill 

 him — much less bees. He had an ulcerated 

 tooth a few days afterward, and for real 

 severe pain he averred he would rather have 

 ten times the stings he had that day. Did 

 the stings hurt him? "Naw! After the 

 first few had been received the rest did not 

 hurt." That was a new fact to me, and I 

 wonder if any of our readers have had a 

 similar experience as to the hurting part of 

 it. Mr. Harrington, when questioned fur- 

 ther, says he remembers the Jirst stings did 

 hurt him ; but notwithstanding he was 

 stung dozens and perhaps hundreds of 

 times aft< rward he insists that the last 

 stings did not hurt him at all; but he does 

 remember feeling slightly sick, and he 

 knows the horse felt so by the wAy she act- 

 ed; "but," said Mr. Harrington, "a horse 

 can not vomit as a human being can; and 

 if it were sick at the stomach, and there is 

 a formation of gas, there is bound to be 

 trouble." The giving of a pound of salt 

 was for two reasons: First, to neutralize 

 the poison in the system; second to physic 

 the animal. As to whether it neutralized 

 the poison or not — that is, whether it could 

 get at it in the blood — I can not say; but it 

 served the other purpose. 



In talking with a veterinary physician 

 about this experience, he said that Mr. 

 Harrington could have done nothing better 

 under the circumstances, although if he had 

 been present he would have put on cloths 

 wrung in ammonia water. When I spoke 

 about hot water he admitted that would be 

 excellent if applied soon enough. 



For the benefit of some of our readers 

 who may have a similar experience, it may 

 be well to know how to put the pound of 

 salt down the horse's throat, for Mr. Har- 

 rington says he has known other horses dy- 

 ing from poison from eating some weed, 

 that might just as well have been saved as 

 not. Animals that have been given up to 

 die he has saved, and the manner of admin- 

 istering the salt is as follows: He first 

 forces the horse's mouth open just as one 

 does in inserting bits. With one hand he 

 reaches for the tongue, and pulls it out as 

 far as he can. This forces the animal to 

 open its mouth wide. With the salt rolled 

 up loosely in a paper he takes the other 

 hand and pushes it down the throat as far 

 as he can reach, pushing the arm in as far 

 up as tlie elbow if possible. Then he 

 quickly withdraws the arm, and with two 

 hands closes the mouth immediately, and 

 lifts the horse's head clear up in the air 

 and holds it there until he sees that the bag 

 of salt has gone down the gullet. Mr. Har- 

 rington showed me the whole performance 

 except putting in the salt; and I believe 

 that an}' one might be able to do the trick. 



The veterinary told me that, even if our 

 telephone had been connected, and he could 

 have been found, he could not possibly have 

 arrived in time to do any good; and it is 

 doubtful wliether any veterinary could be 

 summoned in time to save a horse from dy- 

 ing if stung as this animal was. Salt is 

 always available, and the physic is partic- 

 ularly necessary to enable the animal to 

 clear itself in case of an accumulation of 

 gas; for at such times there must be no stop- 

 page in the alimentary canal. 



I give this fact believing that some of our 

 readers can make use of it. Certainlj' no 

 harm can come from the use of salt; and I 

 would also use, in connection with it, hot 

 water; and, in alternation, cold applica- 

 tions of ammonia water. A blanket dipped 

 in water as hot as it can be borne on the 

 hand, and then wrapped around the horse 

 and tied, would be most excellent, said the 

 veterinary, and ihat should be renewed as 

 often as possible with another blanket, 

 which should be quickly thrown on and tied. 



But the point may be raised right here: 

 The man did not have any salt, and the 

 horse did, and both lived. Did the salt, 

 therefore, have any effect? Mr. Harrington 

 says that a man can stand more than a 

 horse; and, besides, if he is sick at the 

 stomach he can vomit and relieve himself 

 in that wa}', and the veterinary was of the 

 same opinion. 



How about the dog? The leg was cut 

 almost through at the hock joint. Notwith- 

 standing Mr. Harrington was covered with 

 stings, and sick and dizzy, he stitched up 

 the wound, wrapped the leg in a bandage, 

 while the poor dog, with eyes almost human, 

 said m}' wife, licked her hand as much as 

 to say, "You are causing me great pain 

 with that needle, but I thank you for your 

 kindness, as I know you are doing the best 

 you can." 



