1372.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



27 



worms, eggs, and food in the worker cells ; all 

 of it had disappeared. 



(to be continued.) 



A Curious Eemedy for Bee Stings. 



The Rev. W. C. Cotton, in his beautiful work, 

 entitled "My Bee Book" (London, 1S4'2), re- 

 publishes a very quaint treatise on bees, by 

 Robert Sydserff. In bis preface, dated 1792, 

 Sydserff says : " There is not in the whole book 

 one page, nor even a line, which I do not know 

 or have not reason to believe to be true ; but as 

 part of it may appear to be strange to ignorant 

 persons, who know nothing of the nature of bees, 

 the several facts are attested on tbe leaf imme- 

 diately preceding the first page of the work, by 

 persons who were eye witnesses to the same, 

 whose characters are too well known to admit a 

 doubt of tbeir truth and reality." 



Our readers will be interested in tbe truly he- 

 roic remedy proposed for curing bee stings : 



" With respect to the poison which is left in the 

 wound, from more than thirty years' experience, I 

 have the greatest reason to believe that the sting of one 

 bee serves to mollify, prevent the swelling, and in effect 

 cure the siing of another. Innumerable instances have 

 I known, which have confirmed me iu my belief; two 

 or three I will set down here, for the reader's infor- 

 mation, which I think may serve for the whole. 



In the year 1761, my brother, John Sydserff, who 

 was then a child in coats, went into my father's bee 

 garden, where a hive of bees lay out very big ; the 

 child having a stick in his hand, hooked down part 

 of the bunch, when the bees immediately fell on the 

 child, and for want of thought, he made no attempt 

 to run from them, but stood still, crying vehemently. 

 At that time I was at work in my father's chamber, 

 and calling to my mother-in-law to know what the 

 child cried so violently for, she ran to see, and no 

 sooner came into the garden, than I heard her exclaim 

 so loudly that I could not hear the child's cry. I ran 

 as quickly as possible into the garden, and saw the 

 mother running about and grasping the child iu her 

 arms, and endeavoring to save him from the furious 

 bees. On seeing me she cried out, ' The child is 

 stung to death ;' and as she also was stung very 

 much, so I did not escape being stung in several 

 places, only in taking the child from its mother and 

 running with it into the house. Many bees followed 

 us, and I believe that, more than a score were seen 

 flying up and down the glass of the window on the 

 outside, in less than half a minute. I found several bees 

 entangled in the child's hair, and to prevent their 

 stinging him I pulled them out in a hurry, bees and 

 hair together. 



As soon as I had extricated the child from the bees, 

 my next work was to pluck out the stings that were 

 to be found more or less from head to foot, but all 

 over the head they greatly abounded. Several I pulled 

 out of the tongue, and thirteen out and off oue of the 

 ears. Immediately applying to Mr. Robert Grim- 

 stead, apothecary, for advice, he said he could not tell 

 what could be done, unless I was to anoint him all 

 over with sweet oil. This I did as fast as possible ; 

 but I believe that it did the child neither good nor 

 harm. The effect of this disaster was that he looked 

 pale and appeared to be sick, but there was not the 

 least sign of any swelling. Soon after this he fell 

 asleep and lay sleeping in his mother's lap for several 

 hours ; and about ten o'clock in the evening (to the 



joy and surprise of his weeping parents), he opened 

 his eyes and appeared to be perfectly recovered. We 

 all went to rest for the night, and not a single com- 

 plaint was heard of afterward. 



From hence I take the opportunity of observing, 

 that if I am stung by a bee on the face, I generally 

 swell almost blind; if on the back part of the hand, 

 the swelling ascends to the tips of my fingers ; but if 

 I am stung by two bees near the same place, the 

 swelling i6 not so much ; and if 1 am stung by ten or 

 more bees, the swelling is very little, or none at all. 1 

 would not of choice be stung by them, if it can be avoided ; 

 but after I have been stung once, I have no objections 

 against being stung twice ; and afUr 1 have been stung 

 twice or three times, I do not mind if I am stung fijty or 

 a hundred times. 



Some will be ready to say what I here assert is very 

 unreasonable. It may appear so to those who have 

 not proved it, but if 1 did not know it to be a matter 

 of fact, I should not relate it 



But as a farther proof of the above, in 17S0, in 

 taking an old stock of bees for Thomas Horner, Esq., 

 in Mell's Park, out of an high ash tree, I was stung 

 to such a degree that my flesh was as tender as if cut 

 with lancets, but without any appearance of swelling ; 

 and as I had to rise the bees in the garden (which lay 

 out very big), I went the next day to do it, aud I felt 

 such a fear ol being stung agaiu as I never felt before 

 for upwards of thirty years. This was observed by- 

 Mr. Forbes, the gardener, who told me that I was 

 more afraid of the bees than he was, which I believe 

 at that time was true ; but as Mr. Forbes was a stran- 

 ger to what I then felt, it is not improbable that if he 

 had been stung but half so much as 1 was the day be- 

 fore, he would have been afraid ever to have gone 

 iuto a bee-garden more. However, as I expected no 

 pay unless my work was completely done, I raised 

 them up, and was again stung severely from head to 

 foot. But what was my surprise when I found these 

 fresh stings to be of very great service ; the pain I felt 

 was removed almost instantaneously, and the tender- 

 ness of the flesh, very soon passed off. On the third 

 day I made new hackles and plastered the bees round 

 to the satisfaction of my employer ; and in doing this 

 also I was stung very much, but these stings had not 

 the least effect upon me, and I felt nothing of them, 

 only when pricked by them. 



Another proof I shall mention was in 1793, in taking 

 a swarm out of a tree for fanner Luke Ashman, of 

 Leigh on Mendip. After I had handed out the great- 

 est part of the bees without finding the queen, I was 

 obliged to search every small hole where my hand 

 would not go, with my fore-finger. By this means the 

 finger was stung to such a degree, that William Tapp, 

 who attended me, did often take out three stings at 

 once. When I had done, I asked him how many 

 stings he thought he had taken from the tip to the 

 first joint of my finger. He told me they -were out 

 of number. I then asked him if he thought he had 

 taken out thirty. Yes, said he, and more than twice 

 thirty. I must observe that this finger felt a little be- 

 numbed, but no way tender or swelled, nor had it the least 

 appearance of being stung at the first ; but for days af- 

 ter black spicks appeared in ihe skin. Upon another of 

 my fingers 1 was slung by one single bee, ichich made it 

 swell greatly and was very tender for several days after. 



Another proof I met with in the year 1784, which is 

 the last I intend at this time to mention. It was on the 

 19th of May, in taking a swarm of bees out of a high 

 elm tree, for Mr. James Fussell, of Mells, when I 

 was stung on my fingers and on the back of my right 

 hand, in nearly twenty places. On this hand there 

 was not the least appearance of swelling, and very 

 little tenderness ; but on my left hand, which was ac- 

 cidentally stung by one single bee, the sting of this 

 one bee caused my arm to swell to such a degree, that 



