GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



of the bee, or to a certain extent after the 

 liquid has been stored in the cell, we merely 

 wish to make this statement which we be- 

 lieve to be the absolute truth: There is 

 scarcely a single honey market in this coun- 

 try that has not suffered at least once, and 

 in most cases a number of times, under the 

 burden of a great quantity of unripe honey 

 remaining unsold on the grocer's shelves, or 

 waiting for a buyer at the warehouse of 

 some commission merchant or honey-dealer 

 Jt is true that this fact does not prove that 

 honey may not be successfully ripened out- 

 side the hive; but it does prove beyond all 

 doubt that very few beekeepers are able to 

 ripen honey successfully outside the hive. 

 Most extensive producers have found that 

 there are times when honey not entirely 

 sealed or altogether unsealed is, neverthe- 

 less, ripe and ready to be extracted. This, 

 however, has little to do with the question 

 before us. 



Like our correspondent we much prefer 

 to let results speak for themselves. Here, 



then, are the resulls. There is no doubt that 

 E. W. Alexander was successful in ripening 

 buckwheat honey outside the hive. We also 

 believe that our correspondent is also suc- 

 cessful. On the other hand, as we stated 

 above, there is scarcely a honey market that 

 has not had its share of unripe honey, mar- 

 keted, too, by beekeepers who had done 

 their best to ripen their crop outside the 

 hive. We should say that a conservative 

 estimate would show close to ninety-nine 

 failures out of one hundred. In the face of 

 sucli evidence, our opinion remains un- 

 changed — that is, that, while a few experts 

 with favorable atmospheric conditions and 

 proper equipment, and by a careful study 

 and unceasing care, may market good honey 

 ripened outside the hive, the average pro- 

 ducer can not do better than err on the safe 

 side, and extract only ripened honey, and 

 thus be assured of placing before the con- 

 sumers an article of food that will be pleas- 

 ing and that will create for itself a con- 

 stantly increasing demand. — Ed.] 



BEE-POISON AS A CURATIVE AGENT 



CONDENSED TRANSLATION BY J. A. HEBERLE^ B.S. 



The original article was written especiaiJy 

 for the medical fraternity by Dr. A. Keiter- 

 Graz, and published in the Therapeutic 

 Monthly, Basel. For several years Dr. Keittr 

 has practiced the application of bee-stings 

 according to the methods of Dr. Ph. Tere, 

 Marburg. The success of this method was 

 so decided with muscular and articular 

 rheumatism, chronic and acute, with poly- 

 artritis deformans and gout, that he consid- 

 ered it his duty to call the attention of his 

 colleagues to this not new but insufficiently 

 esteemed method of treating the above-nam- 

 ed diseases. 



Dr. Keiter gives the effect of a sting on 

 normal persons and on persons peculiarly 

 sensitive to bee-poison. He mentioned that 

 beekeepers become gradually immune to bee- 

 poison, and at the same time to rheumatism. 



A BEEKEEPER RARELY SUFFERS FROM RHEU- 

 MATISM. 



This immunity is like the injection of a 

 serum for certain diseases. Its effect is lim- 

 ited by time, and should be acquired each 

 year for a few years in succession to become 

 permanent. 



Dr. Tere found that on persons who were 

 immune from birth a bee-sting would pro- 

 duce no swelling. Such persons were also 

 immune to rheumatism. He also found per- 

 sons that were healthy, but a single bee- 

 sting would produce an unusually severe 



reaction, both locally and in general. This 

 unusual sensitiveness is termed idiosyncrasy. 



A person afflicted with rheumatism reacts 

 differently on a bee-sting than a healthy 

 person. Locally the reddening and the 

 quaddle, about 14-inch in diameter, are the 

 same primary reaction, according to Dr. 

 Tere, but often disappear completely with- 

 in half an hour. A secondary reaction on 

 the body and skin — a painful swelling last- 

 ing two or three days — has not been observed 

 on persons suffering from rheumatism. The 

 pain of the sting is much less than on a 

 healthy person, and the rheumatic pain is 

 reduced. The effect is very apparent. Per- 

 sons suffering from angular rheumatism, 

 who could only with difficulty come to the 

 consultation-room, would often by the first 

 trial inoculation (2 to 3 stings) find con- 

 siderable relief, and become very hopeful 

 because they could walk with more ease. If 

 the patient wishes to be treated, then it is 

 best that the stings be applied daily, gi-ad- 

 ually increasing the number of stings he 

 may get, so he can stand 50 to 100 stings, 

 and even more, in one day. 



The time required until the patient reaches 

 the swelling stage — v/here the reaction is like 

 that on a healthy person when stung for the 

 first time — depends on the long standing 

 and the severity of the ailment. This state 

 every rheumatic patient must reach — sec- 

 ondary I'eaction, according to Dr. Tere. Be- 



