670 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Oct, 



indicated that she was up to the times in bee cul- 

 ture. 



In conclusion we would remark, that the officers 

 of the exposition deserve much praise for the en- 

 couragement and space which they g'avo this de- 

 partment. It is to be hoped that the action and in- 

 terest of apiarists will be such in the future as not 

 to cause them to regret it. Apiarian. 



St. Joseph, Mo., Sept. 6, 1884. 



BEE-STINGS, SMAKTWEED, AND SPI- 

 DER PLANT. 



SOME FACTS FROM EXPERIENCE. 



HAVE 33 colonies of bees— five hybi-ids. My 

 bees just doubled in colonies, and the 16 now 

 swarms were simply prodigious in size. Dur- 

 ing- the white-clover bloom they all (old and 

 ndw) worked well, and filled their hives; but 

 about the 10th of July they simply quit, and from 

 then until about 3 weeks since they loafed and ate 

 up their stores until I shall have to feed some of 

 the later swarms through the winter. In fact, we 

 have taken but very little honey— none to mention. 

 Of course, they always stop during the latter part of 

 July, and, during the fall, fill, and more than fill, all 

 space given them. It was so year before last, and 

 true to some extent last fall, and I think they would 

 have done so this fall, but, for some mysterious 

 reason, the smartweed with us has not bloomed. 

 The whole country is covered with it, and, what is 

 strange, is, that the blossom stays unopened, and has 

 so remained for 4 or 5 weeks, until the seed is now 

 forming. Neither have I ever seen the closed 

 bloom so abundant. It is simply simt from the 

 bees. Had it been open, I have no doubt that the 

 crop of fall honey would have been large; as it is, 

 it is a complete failure, although they carried in 

 considerable. 



What am I to do about getting a start of spider 

 plant? I got seed from you twice last year, and 

 from Newman this season, but not a seed has ever 

 grown, although I have given it every chance. If 

 you have " good seed," let me know, and I will send 

 your money. I want to test it during the winter 

 in my greenhouse. What else have you in the way 

 of new honey-producing seeds? What of this Cali- 

 fornia sage? What are you paying for a clear arti- 

 cle of wax? Has not this generally been a failure 

 as a honey year? 



I notice the newspapers state that the red onion 

 is a sovereign remedy for bee-stings ; but, as you 

 suggest, the delicate little shaft that docs the mis- 

 chief leaves no inlet in the flesh sufficient for a 

 fluid, however volatile, to peneti-ate to the poison. 

 When I am stung (even touched through a buckskin 

 glove) I have to run and bandage my wrist, or in 

 one minute I would be ci-azy fi-om a burning, prick- 

 ing, itching sensation, first beginning in the palms of 

 my hands and the soles of my feet; it runs like 

 wild-fire through my scalp, being particularly se- 

 vere in and about all the nerve centers, until it has 

 spread, almost instantly, all over my body. You 

 can trace every vein and artery by the angry red 

 they present, and, worse than all, my heart (al- 

 though I have no disease in that organ) increases its 

 beats to a palpitation of as high as 160 per minute. 

 By great care I have avoided being stung anywhere 

 only in my hands, and once this summer slightly, 

 but with like result, on the foot. Never have I been 



stung more than by one bee at a time, and Heaven 

 only knows what the result would be, if stung about 

 my neck or head by a number. In two years I have 

 sufl'ered four times from stings in my hands. 

 Ammonia is of no use, nor kerosene; whisky, taken 

 inwardly, is the only antidote I have ever found. 

 As for the onion, I don't know; but I doubt if it 

 amounts to any thing. I like to handle bees, but 

 am afraid lest something serious will befall me. I 

 have met one or two persons who claim to be sim- 

 ilarly afrected when stung. What do you think of 

 it? I know, of course, that it is the nervous system 

 that suflers, but is it not exactly the same as the 

 bite of the snake on a small scale? The venom of a 

 rattlesnake is known to be crotoline poison. Can 

 you tell me what the poison of a bee-sting is? Do 

 you know of any one affected as I describe? Do 

 you not think it dangerous? 



I am addressing you from a personal standpoint, 

 and perhaps have asked you more questions than is 

 consistent with good taste. J. P. Irvine. 



Kirkwood, Illinois, Sept. 18, 1884. 



Friend I., your lioney-yield is about lilve 

 ours, only that we very rarely have any fall 

 pasturage at all. After the middle of July 

 we do not look for any more surplus. The 

 peculiarity of the smartweed you mention 

 is something new to me, although many 

 other plants have a Avay of umitting tlie 

 blooming time, as it were (that is, they nev- 

 er show any petals). In our locality, Spanish- 

 needles along the road-side, on dry ground, 

 seldom sliow any petals or bloom, while in 

 the swamp it is a sea of yellow, and it fur- 

 nishes large ([uantities of honey. Was it not 

 the dry weather that made the difference V— 

 I do not understand the difficulty in getting 

 spider-plant seed to grow. We raise it with- 

 out a bit of trouble in our greenhouse, and 

 it always comes up in the open ground all 

 over our honey-farm, so that ^\•e get plenty of 

 plants by just taking them up ; that is, 

 enough for a moderate patch every year. A 

 correspondent has recently suggested, that 

 seeds tliat will not grow otlierwise will come 

 up nicely if sown in the fall ; tliat is, after 

 lying in the ground all winter it vegetates 

 freely in the spring. We have seed now that 

 comes up nicely by testing. The plants are 

 very hardy when once started.— Your expe- 

 rience in bee-stings is something very un- 

 usual. I have noticed the same symptoms, 

 but never so severe as in your case. It 

 strikes me just now that if I were you I would 

 give up bees— that is, practical work among 

 them. You may get over this, it is true ; 

 but I should be a little afraid, as you say, 

 that a sting on a vital part might result fa- 

 tally. I would far rather give up bees for ev- 

 er than to think of taking whisky as a reme- 

 dy for the bad effects of the stings. Better 

 take the stings as the lesser of the two evils, 

 even though they affect you as you state.— I 

 have no faith whatever in onions. News- 

 papers, you know, are full of remedies. The 

 poison of the bee-sting is, I believe, general- 

 ly conceded to be formic acid. Very likely 

 our homeopathic friends have another namie 

 for it. — Go on with your c] nest ions, friend I. 

 I earn my bread and butter l)y answering 

 questions, or by telling i)eople where they 

 will find answei-s to their (juestions pertain- 

 ing to bee culture and kindred subjects. 



