1899 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



].'. 



I made up my mind some time ago that the 

 editors of the bee-journals had started in to 

 fence the whole bee-fraternity, but their do- 

 minion hasn't reached Oregon, so we had to 

 devise one of our own. I am willing to admit 

 that the slatted fence separator is better 

 than any of the old styles, yet the one I use 

 suits me better, which is a fence made of gal- 

 vanized wire cloth, eight meshes to the inch, 

 and the same width of tin separators. When 

 perforated with about three dozen '4-in. holes 

 it allows as free passageway as I think is nec- 

 essary, and each bee can see what its neigh- 

 bor is doing in the adjoining section, and it 

 allows the freest circulation of all. I find 

 that bees will work evener in the supers with 

 these fences, and will ripen the honey quick- 

 er than with any other. It is easily cleaned, 

 and will last a lifetime; besides, it has an ad- 

 vantage over all other separators in extracting 

 unfinished sections. Two wide frames can be 

 dropped in each basket of the extractor, and 

 the honey throwed out, in less time than it 

 takes to write it, and that without removing 

 any sections. If any have a patch of cap- 

 pings in the center a thin knife can be run 

 under the wire fence, the cappings removed, 

 and you can see just what you are doing all 

 the time. Honey can be extracted in this 

 way almost as fast as from the brood-frames, 

 depending, of course, on how near the sec- 

 tions are finished. 



Woodburn, Ore., Nov. 21. 



[I am inclined to think there may be some- 

 thing in the idea of large cells producing 

 large queens I should like to hear from Mr. 

 Doolittle on this point. — He] 



BEE-STING DEATH. 



An Interesting Account of the Results of Stings on 

 a Horse. 



BY GEO. L. VINA!,. 



Perhaps this article would be more appro- 

 priate for a medical journal. Thinking it 

 might be interesting to the readers of Glean- 

 ings, I will give an account of a case that 

 came under my observation. 



September 7th, about 2:00 p.m., one of the 

 men was passing by some hives which were 

 about a hundred yards from him. He had 

 passed by in the same place frequently all 

 summer. It was a partly cloudy and very 

 muggy day. I had come from the bees before 

 dinner, and saw no robbing. They were as 

 quiet as usual. For some cause the bees at- 

 tacked the horse. The man succeeded in get- 

 ting him partly unharnessed, when he cleared 

 himself from the wagon, when he and the 

 man took French leave. The horse got about 

 200 yards away from the bees, and stopped. I 

 was called, and found the air full of bees. 

 Covering my head and face with netting, I 

 went and led the horse into some bushes, and 

 then to the barn. I got to the barn at 2:25. 

 No bees followed. The horse was a large one, 

 in good condition, and would weigh about 

 1200 pounds. His head, nose, ears, neck, and 



body were pretty well covered with stings. A 

 strong wash of ammonia was made, and ap- 

 plied over him. At this time he did not ap- 

 pear to be in much pain, and stood quite still ; 

 but in about ten minutes he began to shake 

 his head, and respiration began to increase. I 

 took his pulse, and it had increased to 50 per 

 minute. The normal pulse of a horse is 36 to 

 40. The normal n spiration is 10 to 12, and 

 the temperature is 98|. 



At 2:45 the pulse was 60, respiration 30, 

 temperature 102. The animal would stretch, 

 and urinate of a highly brown color, with fre- 

 quent evacuations of the bowels, of a thin and 

 watery consistency. At 3:00 p.m. the above 

 symptoms had increased in frequency. The 

 pulse was 80, respiration 60, temperature 104, 

 with marked symptoms of delirium. He 

 would throw himself on the bedding ; would 

 jump up again, and plung and tug at the 

 ropes that he was fastened by; would whinner 

 in a loud shrill voice. These symptoms lasted 

 until 4:15, when they began to abate, and the 

 respiration began to be somewhat stentorious ; 

 he also began to show paralysis of the extrem- 

 ities. 



At 6:00 p.m. he was unable to get up. The 

 pulse had decreased again to 60 ; the tempera- 

 ture had increased to 105. The respiration de- 

 creased to 40, with the stentorious breathing 

 more marked. 



These conditions continued in a more mark- 

 ed degree until he died, at 9:30, or about seven 

 hours after he was stung. 



An autopsy was made the next morning at 

 7:30, or ten hours after death. The whole ali- 

 mentary canal was congested ; the lungs were 

 gorged with blood ; the cavities of the heart 

 were filled with clotted blood of a dark viscid 

 consistency, and all of the muscular tissue was 

 filled or congested. The coverings of the 

 spinal cord were congested ; also the cover- 

 ing and substance of the brain. 



We are told in the bee-journals that the poi- 

 son of the bee is formic acid. We are inform- 

 ed in scientific works that it can be extracted 

 from the ant, the caterpillar, and numerous 

 other sources, and that it can be produced 

 chemically. In some medical works we are 

 told that it is used in a diluted form, applied 

 to the parts of a paralyzed limb ; that its ap- 

 plication increases circulation and a prickling 

 sensation over the parts it is applied to. Now, 

 will some of the shining lights of " beeology," 

 who are scientific medical men and chemists, 

 please inform us why that strong and healthy 

 animal should die from a few stings in about 

 seven hours after he was sUing, with all symp- 

 toms of paralysis ? 



Charlton City, Mass. 



Jl r . H. A., S. C. — We would not advise you 

 to move your colonies at this season of the 

 year. As long as the bees can fly nearly every 

 day you might lose half your bees by remov- 

 ing to the porch mentioned in your letter. 

 If you lived, however, in the North, where 

 the bees could not fly for a period of three 

 months, the change could be easily made. 



