CHAPTER III. 



QUIETING AND MANIPULATING BEES. 



The demeanor of bees toward an individual depends largely upon his 

 bearing and treatment of them. Laugstroth, in his excellent treatise, 

 Langstroth on the Honey Bee (p. 193, revised edition), says: 



Let all your motions about your hives be gentle and slow; never crush or injure 

 the bees; acquaint yourself fully with the principles of management, and you will 

 find you have little more reason to dread the sting of a bee than the horns of a 

 favorite cow or the heels of your faithful horse. 



Most bee manipulators, however, grow somewhat indifferent to stings, 

 since in time they become 

 so inoculated with the poi- 

 son of the bee that the pain 

 of the sting is less severe 

 and the swelling slight. 

 But to avoid the stings is, 

 with some of the races more 

 recently introduced into this 

 country, simply a question 

 of care in manipulation and 

 a free use of smoke. It is 

 not meant that the bees 

 should be stupefied with 

 smoke, but merely alarmed 

 and subjugated, and when- 

 ever they show any dispo- 

 sition to act on the offen- 

 sive recourse is to be had 

 to smoke. It is not neces- 

 sary that the smoke should 

 be from a particular source, 

 but that from certain sub- 

 stances, as tobacco, subju- 

 gates them more quickly, 



while burning puffball stupefies them for the time. There are some 

 objections to these substances which do not apply to wood, either par- 

 tially decayed or sound, and as the latter when in a good smoker holds 

 fire best and is very effective, it is advisable to keep a good supply at 

 hand. Seasoned hickory or hard maple are best, though beech, soft 



31 



FIG. 12. TJse of veil and bee smoker. (Original.) 



