OR, MANUAI, OF THB APIARY. 343 



CHAPTER XIV. 



HANDLING BEES. 



But some one asks the question, Shall we not receive those 

 merciless stings, or be introduced to what " Josh " calls the 

 "business end of the bee ?" Perhaps there is no more cause- 

 less or more common dread in existence than this of bees' 

 stings. When bees are gathering, they will never sting unless 

 provoked. When at the hives — especially if Italians or Car- 

 niolans — they will rarely make an attack. The common 

 belief, too, that some persons are more liable to attack than 

 others, is, I think, erroneous. With the best opportunity to 

 judge, with our hundreds of students, I think I may safely say 

 that one is almost always as liable to attack as another, except 

 that he is more quiet, or does not greet the usually amiable 

 passer-by with those terrific thrusts, which would vanquish 

 even a practiced pugilist. Occasionally a person tnay have a 

 peculiar odor about his person that angers bees and invites 

 their darting tilts, with drawn swords, venom-tipped ; yet, 

 though I take my large classes each season, at frequent inter- 

 vals, to see and handle the bees, each for himself, I still await 

 the first proof of the fact that one person is more liable to be 

 stung than another, providing each carries himself with that 

 composed and dignified bearing that is so pleasing to the bees. 

 True, some people, filled with dread, and the belief that bees 

 regard them with special hate and malice, are so ready for the 

 battle that they commence the strife with nervous head-shakes 

 and beating of the air, and thus force the bees to battle, 

 nolentes volentes. I believe that only such are regarded with 

 special aversion by the bees. Hence, I believe that no one 

 need be stung. 



Bees should never be jarred, nor irritated by quick 

 motions. It is always wise, also, to stand at one side and 

 never in front of the hive. Those with nervous temperament — 

 and I plead very guilty on this point — need not give up, but at 



