April. 1914. 



American 'Ree Jonrnal j 



while I do know the reptiles, I am in- 

 clined to the opinion that the snakes 

 are tired out by teasing, their poison 

 sacs utterly exhausted, so that when 

 they do make the rare blow there is 

 little or no venom back of it. The 

 venom of the Crotalus family is so 

 deadly that there is no such a thing as 

 making a man immune, as I believe 

 he can be rendered immune to the 

 poison of the bee. 

 Buck Grove, Iowa. 



[In the article which friend Bonney 

 criticizes, ex-President Roosevelt says 

 exactly: "I believe that one element 

 in the matter is that the snake priests 

 either naturally possess or develop the 

 same calm power over these serpents 

 that certain men have over bees; the 

 latter power, the existence of which is 

 so well known, has never received the 

 attention and study it deserves." 



That many men can handle bees with 

 almost certain impunity is a fact. I 

 never belonged to that class. I have 

 been in the apiary with men who 

 would stand their ground when I was 

 compelled to withdraw. I have seen 

 men open hives of cross bees and the 

 neighbors 4 or 5 rods away would 

 have to retreat, while the operator 

 himself did the manipulating to the 

 end. That he was stung occasionally 

 I know, but that he could do many 

 things with bees which I could not do 

 with impunity is also true. A man 

 may be trained, or as Roosevelt says, 

 " develop calm power over bees," yet 

 there is something in some men which 

 makes them succeed better in this than 

 others. 



An old gentleman in our vicinity. 

 Uncle John Wright, longago deceased, 

 used to amuse the young people by in- 

 viting dozens of them to his home in 

 long winter evenings and practicing 

 " magnetism," or what the French call 

 "suggestion" upon them. I did not 

 believe in this queer power until he 

 told me that he was sure I could do the 

 same thing myself. I tried and suc- 

 ceeded. I have since found that it is 

 "hypnotism," that hypnotism is a 

 branch of psychology. There is not so 

 much in it as some people would have 

 us believe. Very certainly there is not 

 so much in hypnotic power over bees, 

 as some persons imagine. However 

 this same Uncle John Wright told me 

 that it was practical to hypnotize the 

 bees, that if after opening a hive, with- 

 out smoke, but carefully, I should 

 boldly lay hands over them, as they 

 appeared at the top of the combs. I 

 would see them retreat and finally be- 

 come submissive. I tried it but failed 

 ignominiously. But an apiarist who 

 was at the time working for me in the 

 apiary, and who was noted for his re- 



markably slow ways, tried it after I did 

 and succeeded. 



We gave notice of it in paragraph 

 385 of our latest edition of the Lang- 

 stroth-Dadant book. I have since oc- 

 casionally succeeded in causing the 

 bees to retreat before a "laying of 

 hands," but I would not urge any one 

 to depend upon it. Bees once aroused 

 become very vindictive. I believe that 

 the beekeeper in such cases should do 

 what the Indians are reported to do, 

 by Mr. Roosevelt, in this remarkable 

 article, try to soothe them as the In- 

 dians try to soothe the snakes. But 

 the procedure is very difTerent in the 

 one case from what it must be in the 

 other. 



I have seen it stated, years ago, that 

 the poison of the bee. if it existed in as 

 large quantities as the poison of the 

 rattle-snake, would be more deadly 

 than the latter. I do not remember 

 the authority, but it was stated that the 

 poison of the snake could be taken 

 with impunity within the digestive or- 

 gans while that of the bee could not. 

 This is a matter for doctors and scien- 

 tists to pass upon. But if inoculation 

 has achieved such prodigies, in the 

 prevention of small-pox, or chicken 

 cholera, of hydrophobia, etc., why 

 could it not have effect in the case of 

 rattle-snakes ? We know positively that 

 we become almost immune to the bee- 

 poison. I, myself, cease swelling after 

 a few days of beekeeping. — Editor.] 



Beekeepers I Have Known— 

 "Edward G. Brown" 



BY FRANK C. PELLETT. 



ED BROWN came into intimate con- 

 tact with the bees early in life; 

 for when he was 2 years of age he 

 went out and sat on a hive and began 

 drumming with his heels. A short 

 time later he was picked up by a 

 kindly disposed neighbor woman who 

 took him to the house, picked out the 

 barbs and rubbed him down to some- 

 thing near his normal size. The mis- 

 chief was done, however, for the formic 

 acid was in his blood, and he was 

 started on his life work. 



The senior Brown was a pioneer 

 beekeeper, and one of the first to take 

 up the business on an extensive scale 

 in this section. When Ed's mother 

 came home as a bride she found a few 

 colonies of bees in box-hives. When 

 toward winter, her husband following 

 the custom of the time, brimstoned the 

 heaviest colonies over a pit, she pro- 

 tested that there must be a better way; 

 that the surplus honey should be 

 secured without killing the bees. Mr. 

 Brown contended that it was as neces- 

 sary to kill the bees to get the honey 

 as to kill an animal to get the meat. 



She was not satisfied, and soon after 

 \yas attracted by an advertisement of a 

 little journal devoted to bees. That 



same winter she became a disciple of 

 A. I. Root, and purchased a few sim- 

 plicity hives. The following season 

 the Browns secured a phenomenal 

 honey crop and increased their colo- 

 nies proportionately. At this time the 

 family were engaged in the dairy busi- 

 ness near the present home of the 

 younger Brown, and had considerable 

 capital invested in a cheese factory. 

 This was before the days of fenced 

 pastures, and everybody's cattle ran at 

 large. About this time the dairy busi- 

 ness was ruined by low prices and an 

 epidemic among the cattle of the 



Kdvvard G. Bko\\ X. 



neighborhood. The elder Brown turned 

 his attention seriously to his bees, and 

 from that time until his death was an 

 extensive honey producer. 



At the age of 16 the subject of our 

 sketch left high school and took imme- 

 diate charge of the apiaries belonging 

 to his father. He increased the num- 

 ber of colonies from about 300 to 500, 

 and produced honey by the carloads, 

 some seasons getting in the neighbor- 

 hood or 20 or more tons. He has kept 

 bees constantly since that time. 



While still one of the youngest among 

 them, he is one of about a half dozen 

 of the biggest honey producers of 

 Iowa. Aside from his business as a 

 honey producer, he is associated with 

 others in a large honey-marketing 

 business in Siou.x City, handling not 

 only the product of the apiaries of the 

 persons interested in the business, but 

 doing a large jobbing business as well. 



Mr. Brown's home and family life 

 seem to be ideal. Besides Mrs. Brown 

 there are the two boys growing up to 

 be beekeepers. 



Atlantic, Iowa. 



The Bees' Product. — The following is 

 from the April Gas Review : " The bees 

 are the greatest workers in the world. 

 In this country alone, during the past 

 year, three hundred billfOn bees pro- 

 duced enough honey to fill a train of 

 cars long enough to reach from New 

 York to Buffalo." 



