56 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



cause of the high source from which it came. 



Teacliers iu any uew science must expect to 

 labor without recompense iu worldly wealth. 

 It must first be established beyond dispute 

 that it is a science, that there is knowledge 

 yet to be had for the inquirer. There must 

 be created a desire to obtain this knowledge 

 before any recompense is thought of. I will 

 not say that some of the objections raised 

 liave their foundation only in spite, but they 

 certainly savor a little of it. It would almost 

 seem as if the greater tlie success, the stronger 

 the opposition. 



The greatest calamity that has befallen bee- 

 keepers the past two winters, has been the loss 

 of stocks. Whenever a similar calamity visits 

 the dairyman or horse breeder, like the rind- 

 erpest or epizootic, the whole country is agi- 

 tated. Not a paper but hoists the signal of 

 distress, losses are enumerated, damages re- 

 counted, remedies suggested, and sympathy 

 without stint given. 



But when the bee-keepers are assailed Avith 

 reverses like the devastations of the moth, 

 foul brood, calamitous wintering, etc., etc., 

 not a note of distress is sounded, nor a word 

 of sympathy uttered, perhaps because we are 

 weak in numbers. Unless we can help 

 ourselves, it appears we must not expect to be 

 helped. How much have we done toward 

 solving the problem of the past two winters ? 

 Among all the theories yet advanced, only a 

 small part, as yet, seem probable. Dysentery 

 in one of its worst forms, is common immedi- 

 ately preceding the death of tlie colony. 

 Most of us have inquired into the cause of 

 dysentery. It has been suggested that it is in 

 the unhealthy quality of tlie honey, and pure 

 syrup of sugar has been substituted as food 

 for the bees, hoping to avert the disease. Oth- 

 ers have supposed that simply protracted cold 

 will produce it. Others have taken this view 

 of il : When the bee has filled itself witli its 

 food — honey or syrup — and is kept warm 

 enough, tlie liquid portion passes oft' into the 

 air, in the form of vapor, while the more sol- 

 id part is changed into wax, or passes as ex- 

 crement in a dry state. But when the single 

 bee is chilled for only a sliort time, or when 

 the cluster is chilled betw een the combs in 

 the hive so as to prevent those on the outside 

 of the cluster from changing places with 

 warmer ones inside, the liquid portion is not 

 exhaled, but remains in the abdomen till it 

 can no longer be retained, and they leaver and 

 discharge it, soiling eveiything near at liand. 

 They seldom return, and tiie cluster grows 

 smaller, till gone. 



It is i)roper that we should, like skillful 

 physicians, examine tlie subject in all its 

 bearings, and if we are fortunate enough to 

 find the cause, we may possibly tind the rem- 

 edy; in which ca.se we shall l)enefit bee-keep- 

 ers as much as the philanthropist who helped 

 discover the cause and remedy of rinderpest. 



i If bees can be made to pass the winter as 

 I safely as cattle or horses, we shall have taken 

 ! one important step toward advancing bee- 

 I keeping. I think they can. Some of the 

 i younger members among us may yet consider 

 this calamity a blessing. They may be led 

 to guard against future disaster successfully, 

 by the investigation of facts which would 

 never have been thought of but for the dis- 

 aster. 



The fear of stings is greatly iu the way of 

 progression. Can we not do something more 

 to remove some of this faint-hearted timidity ? 

 There is much to be done in this line. The 

 man can do but little in studying the nature 

 of the bee who is constantly thinking of stings, 

 instead of his studies. If he makes the sting 

 a study — and it is a broad one, — he must get 

 rid of the dreadful fear of it, or he will not 

 progress very much. lie may sit quietly 

 down, take the sting, with or without a mag- 

 nifier, and he will see that he has only a small 

 instrument of warfare, so minute that a punc- 

 ture in tlie flesh made with it, would not be 

 realized were it destitute of poison. He will 

 then inquire what made the smart. Exam- 

 ing closer he will discover at the base of the 

 sting quite a lump detached from the bee's 

 body — apparently a part of it — saturated with 

 a clear, transparent liquid; it may be seen 

 glistening over the surface before parted 

 from the bee. When thrust into the skin a 

 very small particle of the subtle poison is 

 transmitted into the flesh, producing the sens- 

 ation so much dreaded. 



When a quiet cluster is resting and dis- 

 turbed moderately, tliey simply put up the 

 abdomen in such a way that it will not touch 

 another bee, put out the sting, and exude a 

 tiny globule, nearly covering it, saying as 

 plainly as actions can speak, " You must be- 

 ware how you proceed further. See what 

 the Creator luis given us as defense against 

 the ruthless spoiler. You have wronged us 

 for ages. We begin moderately, as you have. 

 Now we have given you a sight ; we have 

 given you a snitt"; we can give you a taste." 

 When he can understand their language, if he 

 is judicious, lie will set himself to interpret- 

 ing it — will try to see under what circum- 

 stances bees are disposed to sting; see when 

 this acrid poison is set afloat in the air, 

 and what eflect it has on other colonies; see 

 if a quick motion, while this is in circulation, 

 does not attract attention. He will discover 

 that bees, when busily engaged bringing 

 stores have less time to resent insults — real 

 or imaginary — than when quietly reposing 

 on a cool morning; and that on a pleasant 

 day they are less spiteful; and that such 

 time is the best to work with thi'm. When 

 this poison is floating about, informing sur- 

 rounding bees that they have been disturbed, 

 he will in(|uire if any substance will neutral- 

 ize or destroy it. He will find that smoke of 



