SEPTEMBER 1, 1913 



613 



W. G-. Davis, Johannesburg, Transvaal, S. A. 



the result is that the neighboring' bees start 

 robbing, and the trouble commences. Many 

 head of cattle, poultry, etc., are lost every 

 year through the carelessness of these so- 

 called beekeepers. When this happens I 

 am invariably called to attend to the bees, 

 and I am sure I could relate a score of in- 

 stances where the bees have done consider- 

 able damage. 



The first time I was called I had on a 

 black suit of clothes; and when I ar- 

 rived at the scene of destruction the bees 

 immediately set about stinging my clothes, 

 and I am sure that there were hundreds of 

 sting's on the clothes when the bees were 

 eventually quieted. Among the stock lost 

 were black pigs and fowls, and also a black 

 dog. On returning to my home I thought 

 it funny that a buff-colored dog on the 

 premises did not have a single sting on it, 

 and I resolved to try an experiment on a 

 future occasion. The opportunity was not 

 long in coming, for a week later I was in- 

 formed that a swarm of bees had gone on 

 the rampage and killed a lot of poultry 

 and a valuable cow. I took with me my 

 new outfit— a khaki-colored suit and veil 

 which I had specially made. On ai'rival at 

 the scene there were 29 fowls, 2 turkeys, 

 and a black and white cow lying dead. The 

 bees were then stinging something awful; 

 and although they had stung to death the 

 above-mentioned stock, they did not attempt 

 to sting my clothes or veil, although my 

 assistant, who had on a black veil, received 



a good many stings on his neck. There were 

 nine Buff Orping-ton fowls in the yard 

 with the others; and after the fray I exam- 

 ined those fowls thoroughlj^, and could find 

 only three stings on those buff' fowls, wliile 

 those that were dead were literally covered 

 with the stings. I have since used the outfit 

 on a number of occasions, and found the 

 bees never attempted to sting me when 1 

 had it on. 



I submit this experiment to your readers 

 for consideration. I feel sure they will 

 quite agree with my remarks. There is one 

 great drawback about a buff-coloied veil; 

 and that is, it is almost impossible to see 

 the eggs in the cells when examining the 

 frames of a bar- frame hive ; but for special 

 emergencies as above, I commend it to your 

 readers for a trial. 



Why do bees sting black? Why do we 

 look askance at any thing that is forel^i 

 to us? There are not black flowei's for the 



A GLIMPSE OF OUR FLORIDA DASHEEXS. 



As the above picture was taken, as nearly as I 

 can make out, some time about the tirst of Juh , 

 the dasheens are very much larger just now, Aug. 

 5. The picture gives you a little glimpse of some of 

 the Florida pine trees and other vegetation that 

 grow on our five acres. — A. I. Root. 



