316 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 





once be procured. Bevan recommends the" use of spirits 

 of hartshorn, and says that, in cases of -.severe, stinging,- 

 its internal use is also beneficial* 



Timid Apiarians, and all who suffer, severely , from the 

 sting of a bee, should by all means proteet .themselves 

 with a bee-dress. The great objection to such a dress, as 

 usually made, is, that it obstructs clear vision, so highly 

 important in all operations, besides producing such exces- 

 sive heat and perspiration, as to make one using it pecu- 

 liarly offensive to the bees. I prefer what I call a bee-hat 

 (Plate XL, Fig. 25), of entirely novel construction. It is 

 made of wire-cloth, the meshes of which are too fine to 

 admit a bee, but coarse enough to allow a free circulation 

 of air, and to permit distinct sight. The wire-cloth should 

 be first sewed together like a hat, and made large enough, 

 to go very easily over the head ; its top may be of cotton 

 cloth, and the same material should be fastened around its 

 lower edge. If the top is made of sole leather, it will 

 serve a better purpose. A piece of wire-cloth one foot 



* It may be some comfort to novices to know that the poison will produce less 

 and less effect upon their system. Old bee-keepers, like Mithridates, appear almost 

 to thrive upon poison itself. When I first became interested in bees, a sting was 

 quite a formidable thing, the pain being often very intense, and the wound swelling 

 so as sometimes to obstruct my sight. At present, the pain is usually slight, and, 

 if the sting is quickly extracted, no unpleasant consequences ensue, even if no 

 remedies are used. Huish speaks of seeing the bald head of Bonner, a celebrated 

 practical Apiarian, covered with stings, which seemed to produce upon him no un- 

 pleasant effects. The Eev. Mr. Kleine advises beginners to suffer themselves to be 

 stung frequently, assuring them that, in two seasons, their system will become 

 accustomed to the poison 1 



An old English Apiarian advises a person who has been stung, to catch as speedily 

 as possible another bee, and make it sting on the same spot. Even an enthusiastic 

 disciple of Huber might hesitate to venture on such a singular homoeopathic 

 remedy ; but as this old writer had stated, what I had verified in my own expe- 

 rience, that the oftener a person was stung the less he suffered from the venom, I 

 determined to make trial of his prescription. Allowing a sting to remain until it 

 had discharged all its poison, I compelled another bee to insert its sting, as nearly as 

 possible, in the same spot. I used no remedies of any kind, and had the satisfac- 

 tion., in my zeal for new discoveries, of suffering more from the pain and swelling 

 than for years before. 



