EUBDDINO AND HANDLING BEES. 93 



hive under manipulation. All honour to the man who first 

 discovered the tranquilising- influence of smoke ! 



163. Unprovoked Stinging Exceptionai It is an utter 



fallacy which suggests that the main object, or one of the main 

 objects of a bee's life, and her greatest happiness, is to drive 

 her sting into human flesh. The sting is her natural protec- 

 tion — a weapon not properly of offence, but of defence. It is 

 the exception, and not the rule, for the sting to be used in a 

 manner unprovoked. Instinct teaches the bee to employ her 

 weapon sparingly, because the fastening of the barbs in the 

 object stung often obliges the bee to retire mutilated from the 

 encounter. (39). 



164. Fearless Defence of the Home But bees, it must be 



admitted, sometimes conceive extravagant notions of danger, 

 and, without any cause apparent to us, will attack with fury 

 any other living thing in their neighbourhood. In such 

 circumstances discretion will often prove " the better part of 

 valour." Force is no remedy. Attack them with your 

 umbrella ; a hay fork ; a locomotive ; a pom pom ; they will beat 

 you. Bring up the British Army, horse, foot, and dragoons ; 

 the bees will win the day. For behind their assault are their 

 queen ; their brood ; their home ; and in defence of these they 

 are utterly oblivious of danger and indifferent to death. For 

 their fearless anger when aroused, bees have been employed 

 in warfare. There are cases on record in which whole 

 regiments have been routed by the letting loose of bees. In 

 Thuringia (1525) a furious mob, which had stood out against 

 tremendous odds, was instantly put to flight by having hives 

 of bees thrown among them. To the uninitiated there is some- 

 thing terrifying in the vicious buzzing of bees when they have 

 their abdomens curved for the thrust, and the very air around 

 them seems charged with venom. You cannot oppose your 

 courage to theirs, for they are not amenable to the laws of 

 civilised warfare, and they will fight with irresistible bravery, 

 and will die a thousand deaths, if need be, in defence of their 

 homes. 



165. What Constitutes "a Master of Bees."— Therefore it is 

 necessary, in order to manage bees, whether on the old 

 principles or the new, that one should know how to stay " the 

 beginning of strife," to subdue them to his will, and to bring 

 them completely under control. Firmness, without aggres- 

 sion ; gentleness, without fear; and a knowledge of their 

 habits, tastes and fancies, are all that are required to consti- 

 tute a master of bees. With such qualifications one can do 

 with them as one pleases ; can revolutionise their kingdom ; 

 depose their queen ; regulate their enterprise ; intercept their 

 swarms; order the manner of their industry; deprive them of 



