346 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



May 30, 



which would squeeze the poison-sac and inject more venom 

 into the wound. When stung, reraovo the sting as quicfc^iy as 

 possible. If stung on the hand, Inslantly pass it against the 

 corner of the hive. 



In many eases the sting of a bee is attended with ranch 

 pain and swelling, wliilo in others there are no ill-effects pro- 

 duced whatever. There is no doubt that the system can soon 

 become inured to the poison so that uo bad effects are pro- 

 duced. The writer well recollects the time when a bee-sting 

 was very painful to him, and was always attended with much 

 pain and welling ; but now he would rather, at any time, be 

 stung by a bee than be pricl^ed by a thorn. 



Many remedies have been suggested for stings, and while 

 they all may do good In some cases, In others they fall. As 

 formic acid is the principal constituent of the poison, it seems 

 that those remedies that contain an alkali — such as ammonia, 

 soda, etc., prove the most efficacious. A continued application 

 of cold water to the part stung is most excellent, and usually 

 prevents the pain and swelling. Tincture of Iodine applied to 

 the wound Is said to be eiJBcaclous. 



While it is impossible to work much among bees and never 

 get stung, it is also possible in most of cases to keep them 

 " peaceably inclined," so that stings need be few and far be- 

 tween. One person possesses no more "charms" in handling 

 bees than another, if the same laws and rules are observed. 



DIRECTIONS FOR HANDLING BEES. 



In all our operations with our bees we must use gentle- 

 ness. All quick, sudden jars and motions irritate them. Bees 

 are always more gentle and less Inclined to sting when they 

 are gathering plenty of honey ; and at such times the hives 

 can be opened with very little danger ; whereas, when there 

 is a dearth of honey, the inmates of the same hive might show 

 a great spirit of resentment. 



I have observed that color exerts some influence on the 

 temper of this insect. I have found tliatdark shades of cloth- 

 ing, and particularly red, are more distasteful to them than 

 white. Hence, when working among them use light-colored 

 clothes. 



When opening a hive, always stand on the side opposite 

 to the wind, and never in front of the entrance. It is bee- 

 nature, when alarmed, for the insect to take to its stores and 

 gorge itself with honey. When in this condition they never 

 sting unless struck at or squeezed. Most writers tell us that 

 this engorgement of the honey-sac soothes the auger of the 

 insect and makes It peaceable. While this is partly true, in 

 the main It Is incorrect. When the honey-receptacle is en- 

 gorged, the abdomen Is much distended, which deprives the 

 bee of making the necessary muscular action of this portion 

 of the body in order to bring the sting into a proper position 

 for a thrust. 



In order to guard against bees crawling up the arms and 

 legs, it is best to confine the sleeves at the wrists with elastic 

 bands, and to pull the socks over the bottom of the pants. It 

 is best not to work among bees after dark, for they cannot 

 see to fly, and at such times are great at crawling, and will 

 " poke their noses " into every little opening about the clothing. 



Cai;)adiar) Beedorrj^ 



Condtictcd by " BEE-MA.STBR." 



A Cold Snap. 



After preternaturally warm weather for about two weeks, 

 during which the thermometer several times hovered between 

 90^ and 100'-', there came on Sunday, May 12, "a frost, a 

 nipping frost," the mercury going down in the most favored 

 parts of Canadian beedom to 24^ or 26-. A clean sweep is 

 made of the fruit-blossoms, hence the supply of honey from 

 that source will be ?i)7. But probably the most serious Injury 

 to the bee-keeping industry will be from the chilling of young 

 brood. The unusually hot weather for two weeks previously 

 had stimulated brood-rearing to the greatest possible extent, 

 and no doubt many colonies found it impossible to nourish 

 their babies In a sufticient degree to keep them alive. The 

 extreme cold has now continued for a whole week. Last night 

 (May 19) ice formed to the thickness of a quarter of an inch. 

 For a week there has been no let-up to admit of an examina- 

 tion to what extent colonies have been checked and injured by 

 chilled brood. 



The 10 nuclei from Florida, spoken of in a previous issue 

 of Canadian Beedom, arrived on May 11, and it will be inter- 



esting to note, when it is "possible to do so, how they have 

 stood a whole week's exposure to weather which at this time 

 of the year may, without exaggeration, be called " Arctic." 

 However this particular importation may turn out, it is rather 

 a damper on the project of getting bees from the South with a 

 view to profit from building nuclei up into strong colonies 

 capable of yielding a remunerative surplus of honey the same 

 season. 



••—-»• 



Bee-Keeping as a Specialty. 



The editor of the Bee-Keepers' Review is frank enough to 

 own that there are places where bee-keeping can no longer be 

 followed successfully as a specialty, because the returns are 

 too uncertain, and says he sees no good in trying to make it 

 appear otherwise. This is a sensible view to take of the 

 subject. 



Celery-growing is pursued as a specialty in the vicinity of 

 Kalamazoo, Mich., but there are few localities in which this 

 can be done to advantage. The soil and climate are specially 

 adapted to this crop. In many places this vegetable Is grown 

 under difficulties. It can be done, but it Is at a disadvantage. 

 The same fact should be recognized in regard to bee-keeping. 

 In districts particularly well adapted to this pursuit, it is wise 

 and well to follow it extensively ; in others less favorably sit- 

 uated, it should be carried on with caution, not putting all 

 the eggs into one basket, lest peradventure there may be a 

 spill. 



■*-—^- 



FIve-Bancled Bees. 



Part of the report of the Michigan State Apicidtural Station, published in 

 llie liee- Keepers' Senlevj. 



Having a desire to test the so-called five-banded bees, I 

 introduced two queens of this variety in the spring of 1894. 

 As in the case of so many other experiments, the unfavorable 

 character of the season prevented anything like a fair test to 

 their abilities as honey-gatherers, yet it can be said that 

 nothing appeared to show that they were lacking in this re- 

 spect. Though called "golden Italians," I would have pro- 

 nounced them anything but Italians judging from the disposi- 

 tion they exhibited. While they are not the most irascible of 

 bees, they are yet very nervous and quick to manifest a 

 recognition of intrusion, from which characteristic I should 

 have judged them to be largely of Syrian blood. But the 

 most marked characteristic exhibited by at least one of two 

 colonies was an inclination to rob. If there was any attack 

 to be attempted on a colony, or by chance to pry into a case 

 of honey, about one-balf the would-be thieves, out of a large 

 apiary, were from one or both of these colonies. It is to be 

 hoped that this peculiarity may stand them in stead in the 

 gathering of nectar when an opportunity occurs. 



Lapeer, Mich. R. L. Taylor. 



E. E. Hasty, in his " Condensed View " says : " Mr. Tay- 

 lor also reports four cellar-placed colonies, with everything 

 right as far as could be seen, but bees all dead. They differed 

 from the live ones simply in being 'Improved' five-banded 

 stock. Lend us a pin to stick here, somebody. Know- 

 ing smile of the ' told you so ' species, from Mr. Alley." 



Probably the same kind of "knowing smile " will over- 

 spread the faces of others who might be named, for it cannot 

 be denied that there Is a very general Impression among bee- 

 keepers who have no axe to grind, that these five-banded 

 beauties are apt to show a certain delicacy of constitution. 



Bees in manitoba. 



The following appeared in a recent number of the 

 Farmers' Advocate : 



This is the earliest I have ever taken my bees out of their 

 winter quarters. April 7 was the earliest until this year, 

 when I took them out on April 1. They are in better condi- 

 tion this year than I ever had them before — plenty of bees, 

 and plenty of stores, and all healthy. About SO per cent, of 

 the number I put in last fall came through all right. They 

 are gathering a little pollen already. 



I had very good success with them last season. I got 

 about lOO pounds of extracted honey from each colony. I 

 use the Jones hive and find it the best for general use, for 

 gathering honey and for putting them away in the winter. I 

 have used the Langstroth and found it all right as far as the 

 storing of honey went, but as there is no space to pack with 



