it ot to ben put up stronger to stand the 

 stanipin' ! " But it was only that bee feller 

 takin' action and utterin' his feel at the 

 same time. 



Last summer our dog Towser, that's the 

 one died, was lyin' in the sun, tryin' to git 

 some sleep, but the flees was that bad he 

 cudent, cos he had to cetch 'em ; but bime- 

 by a bee lit on his head and wocked about 

 like the dog was hisn. Towser held up his 

 hed real stil, and wen the bee was goin' out 

 at the end of his nose he wank his eye at 

 me, like sayin' : "You see wot this duffer 

 is a doin' ; he thinks Ime a lily of the vally 

 wich isn't open yet. Just wait til 1 blossom 

 and you'll see some good fun." 



And shureanuff Towser he opened his 

 mowtli very slo, so as not to friten the bee, 

 and the bee went inside Towser's mowth. 

 Then Towser shut his eyes dreamy, and his 

 mowth too, and begin to make a peacefle 

 smile, wen the bee up and stung him, and 

 you never seen a lily of the vally make sech 

 a circus performance in all yure life !— Se- 

 lected. 



Work among Bees— Effect of Stings. 



At a recent meeting of bee-keepers at Lan- 

 sing, Mich., Professor Cook said in answer 

 to a query : "I believe the oftener colonies 

 are looked through in summer the better. 

 The bees will get used to it, and will go 

 right on gathering and storing ; I have seen 

 the queen keep on laying eggs when I had 

 the combs out. In order not to disturb their 

 operations one must be quiet. Working 

 with the bees will overcome nervousness. 

 When I am feeling nervous and go out to 

 work among the bees, I soon get entirely over 

 it. This matter of tear can be got over by 

 any one. Getting stung gets one used to the 

 poison, so he will not be injured by it. A 

 bee-sting does not swell on me now, and one 

 of the students at the college told me that he 

 was stung yesterday without knowing it, 

 until he saw the swelling some time after- 

 ward ; yet at first a bee-sting was painful to 

 him. 1 think this is on the principle of 

 inoculation. Mr. Langstroth said that at first 

 his eyes would swell if lit' was stung on any 

 part of the body, but he got over this. Mr. 

 Davis does not know when bees sting him, 

 though it sometimes swells on him. Thick- 

 ness of skin may make some difference." 



An Extraordinary Beehive. 



At the farm of Mr. John Parle, Mill O'Rags, 

 County Wexford, Ireland, there have just 

 been taken from a hive of about eleven years' 

 standing, 154 pounds of honey, besides a 

 large quantity of wax in the comb. At one 

 side of the water-mill, and near the roof, 

 there are several holes which had been left 

 for scaffolding, and were generally occupied 

 by pigeons. In one of these holes a swarin 

 of bees entered and took up their abode in 

 1864. A box was constructed and placed in 

 front of the hole, and an aperture for the 

 entrance and exit of the bees. Here they 

 continued to work undisturbed until 1865, 

 when they swarmed, and the new swarm 

 took up their abode in the trunk of a large 



sycamore, felled some time, where they have 

 since toiled year after year, the heart of the 

 tree gradually rotting away uutil almost 

 hollow. 



They pushed their way from end to end of 

 the trunk, about nine feet long, until they 

 amassed the extraordinary amount above 

 mentioned. A large number of the combs 

 —the first year's produce— were unfortunate- 

 ly almost empty, and a few quite black and 

 half filled, which are only suitable for mak- 

 ing mead. The course adopted to extract 

 was unique, though it may be considered 

 cruel. The usual means adopted is to smoth- 

 er the bees with fumes of brimstone, but in 

 this instance the hive was so situated that 

 it was impossible to kill them, so the greater 

 portion of them were dislodged, and the tree 

 split open with hatchets ; and to guard 

 against stings, the combs had to be actually 

 shoveled into keelers or shallow tubs. — Ex. 



The Honey Harvest.— The statements 

 to the effect that bees cease to store a sur- 

 plus when taken to warm climates, have 

 been going the rounds of the newspapers. 

 It is well known that Southern California, 

 with its mild, even sub-tropical climate, 

 gives wonderful returns to the skillful apia- 

 rists. Cuba, situated wholly within the 

 torrid zone, sends considerable honey to the 

 United States every year. Correspondence, 

 which the writer has had with bee-keepers, 

 residing in the torrid zone, shows that the 

 newspaper statements referred to are incor- 

 rect; besides, the accounts of all travelers 

 agree, that honey is raised in considerable 

 quantity in most tropical lands, even where 

 the system of bee-management is very rude. 

 The honey harvest in tropical climates is 

 very likely to be extended over a greater 

 portion of time than it is in temperate 

 regions, yet it does not follow from this that 

 the bees store more honey ; for the yield at 

 any one time is not as likely to be as large 

 a one as that of a more temperate climate, 

 and hence there is more probability that the 

 honey will be used in brood-rearing about 

 as fast as gathered, so that, unless an im- 

 proved system of bee-culture be followed 

 and the honey removed often during the 

 gathering season, little surplus will be ob- 

 tained.— Exchange. 



HEP"* The Seventh Annual Exhibition of 

 the "Inter-State Industrial Exposition of 

 Chicago " will open Sept. 3d and close Oct. 

 18, 1879. Four hundred thousand persons 

 attended this exhibition, on an average 

 each year, since the Exposition was opened 

 to the public. 



([^"Always have the cheerful rays of the 

 morning sun fall upon your hives ; but cou- 

 trive to throw a shade upon their front for a 

 few hours in the middle of the day, when 

 the weather is very hot. Such a shade will 

 be grateful to your bees.— Nutt. 



The above is most excellent and timely 

 advice, and should be well followed. 



