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DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO BEE CULTURE. 



Vol. XIIL 



Chicago, Illinois, January, 1877. 



No. 1. 



The Wisdom of the Past. 



Kesnming our notice of the old bee 

 book to which a brief article was devoted 

 in the November number, we propose 

 to specify a few thinj;s in regard to wliicli 

 the intelligent bee-keeper was apparent- 

 ly as well posted in 1814, as he is in this 

 Centennial year 1876. Taking the order 

 of topics as pursued by our author, we 

 come tirst to 



STINGING. 



Mr. Keyes insists as we do now, that 

 bees are not little winged devils going 

 about seeking wlioni they may sting; 

 thattlieir liabit is to mind their own busi- 

 ness; that they seldom sting unless pro- 

 voked or injured; tluit they have a special 

 dislike of some people ; that their venom 

 is moi'e potent at some times than at oth- 

 ers; that patience, quiet movements, re- 

 treat, thrusting the head among bushes, 

 and the like, are the best" precautions. 

 If thej' are excited, he advises, "let water 

 be thrown among them, or blow them 

 forth with-a bellows." We thought the 

 use of smoke as a means of quieting bees 

 a modern:,invention, but here it is in print 

 more than sixty years ago : — '• The smoke 

 of damp straw or rags will drive them 

 away soon." 



In regard to remedies for stinging, our 

 author says, "I have generally experi- 

 enced my own saliva (spittle) to be more 

 beneficial than pompous chemicals or 

 galenicals." Various remedies commonly 

 resorted to now-a-days are mentioned in 

 this old bee-book. 



WEARING A BEE-DRESS. 



There is nothing particularly difterent 

 from the modern styles of bee-dress in 

 the attire described by Mr. Keyes, but 

 painful experience constrains us to com- 

 mend the wisdom of the following 

 "rule:"— 



" To put on the bee-dress whenever an 

 operation is to be performed; for although 



not always necessary, j'^et it will be pru- 

 dent to be prepared against the worst, 

 especially for tlie inexi^erienced. For a 

 foot may slip, or an accident happen, that 

 no human foresight could be apprised 

 of." 



We have not found tliat our observa- 

 tion sustains the following bit of advice 

 however: — "Great care should be taken 

 after the dress is off, of coming near the 

 bees, as they will be eager to sting for 

 three or four days, though the person be 

 at a considerable distance." 



ON THE APIARY. 



This is sound: — "The properest situa- 

 tion for an apiary is one exposed to the 

 wind as little as possible: it being detri- 

 mental, and proving often fatal to num- 

 bers of bees by blowing them down, or 

 into the water, or overturning the hives." 

 This also is good :— '• It is very wrong to 

 place hives on benclies, which is always 

 the source of mistakes, quarrels, and oft- 

 en slaughter, by their interference with 

 one another. A still worse contrivance, 

 is that of little cots or sheds, with shelves 

 therein, one above another, aftording a 

 harbor for their enemies, and very incon- 

 venient for their management generally. 

 The arrangement I would recommend, is 



that of SEPARATE STANDS FOR EACH HIVE," 



Mr. Keyes advises that these stands be 

 built "sixteen inches above the earth," — 

 we should say "six" omitting the "teen." 

 The necessitj" of Avater being kept in 

 the vicinage of an apiaiy was well under- 

 stood; "put it," says Keyes, "in a broad 

 dish, covered with small stones or duck- 

 weed, to assist the bees in drinking, with- 

 out wetting their wings, or getting 

 drowned." 



HIVES. 



Mr. Keyes describes and illustrates with 

 old-fashioned wood-cuts botli straw and 

 board hives, the latter looking externally 

 very much like a common Langstroth 

 hive. His directions for making straw 

 hives are admirable. It is remarkable 



