')(;s 



(ILEANINGS IN BEK CULTURE 



Sept. If) 



A SCHEME FOR PROTECTING liORSES WHILE 



BEE-YARD. 



bee-veils and gloves, and told him that, the 

 next time he was ready to cultivate, he 

 should let us know. This he did. On arriv- 

 al at the field we followed the driver with 

 camera in hand up and down the rows. Aft- 

 er tramping back and forth it became more 

 and more evident that the bees 

 resented being interrupted in 

 their flight to and from their 

 hives, and the horses began 

 shaking their heads and switch- 

 ing their tails. The field was 

 a Targe one, and, as was their 

 habit, the bees would fly low 

 till they came to the aforesaid 

 fence, when they would rise 

 and pass over it. So it devel- 

 oped that the fence gave only 

 partial protection. It is proba- 

 bly also true that, without this 

 fence, the bees might have 

 been more furious in their at- 

 tack; for the nearer they get to 

 their hives when heavily laden, 

 the crosser they are apt to be. 



Well, how about these big 

 horse -blankets and bee -veil? 

 The former served the purpose 

 of protecting the flanks and 

 bacKS of the horses, and the 

 latter the driver. The hind legs 

 would be, of course, protected 

 by the tail. Indeed, in the view 

 snown the further horse will be 

 seen in the act of switching its 

 tail. 



The bees were flying quite 

 heavily on the occasion referred 

 to in going to and from the 



fields; and 

 we found 

 also they 

 were very 

 much in- 

 clined to 

 sting. But 

 our neigh- 

 bor drove 

 the horses 

 up and 

 down the 

 rows just 

 the same; 

 but it was 

 easy to be 

 seen that, 

 if it had 

 not been 

 for the 

 blankets, 

 doubtless 

 there may 

 have been 

 more trou- 

 ble. What 

 makes a 

 horse fran- 

 tic is to 

 have his 

 sides and 

 back stung 

 with no opportunity to roll or brush off the 

 bees. If they fly about his head or feet he 

 does not seem to care so much, because he 

 can switch or brush them off, although it 

 would seem a wise precaution to put mos- 

 quito-netting over his head. But our neig'i- 



CULTIVATING A FIELD NEXT TO A 



ROBBER-CAGE WHEN IN USE. 



