INTRODUCTION 



Most beginners find it surprisingly easy to get stung, but on the 

 other hand it is not at all difficult to avoid this painful process with 

 a httle thought and care. Usually the dread of a sting, especially 

 the first one, is sometimes sufficient to prevent some folk starting 

 at all. The fear of it, however, is the worst part. 



For instance, unless blood is perceived on the hands or elewhere, 

 it is quite possible to cut oneself, when busy in the kitchen, without 

 knowing it, or even while shaving. Yet a self-inflicted wound of the 

 same cahbre would cause intense pain. This is to a certain extent 

 true of bee-stings, for quite often when working with the bees one is 

 stung without being conscious of the fact, or at worst noticing the 

 prick and forgetting it the next instant in the absorption of one's 

 task. To reach this stage, however, one has to become immunised 

 to the venom injected into the body from each sting. 



The beginner may begin to feel very dubious at the prospect of 

 being stung, but let him not be deterred at the outset by this possi- 

 bility, Hkely though it is. By taking sensible precautions and 

 following the advice of older bee-keepers, the number received will 

 be greatly minimised and soon it will be found that the fascination 

 of the craft grips him as powerfully as it does practically every bee- 

 keeper irrespective of the stings that he will inevitably receive from 

 time to time. In fact, it is not too much to say that reaping the 

 honey harvest is no more to be dreaded by the prospect of being 

 stung than gathering roses through fear of the thorns. 



Incredible though it may seem, a certain bee-keeper of many 

 years standing, who possesses several hives of bees, has never yet 

 experienced a single bee-sting. This extreme example is illustrative 

 of what can be achieved by using reasonable care and common- 

 sense precautions. 



The purpose of this little book is to show that although for the 

 average bee-keeper, stings are probably inevitable, yet they can witn 

 good handling on the lines indicated later, be reduced to a 

 bare miniimim. 



To be a successful bee-keeper it cannot be too strongly empha- 

 sised that the best course is to achieve immunity and to acquire it 

 as soon as possible. For this purpose, the beginner is well advised 

 to allow himself or herself to become stung through the hands, 

 where the skin is not quite so sensitive as in other parts of one's 

 anatomy. 



This may sound harsh advice but it is good counsel, and as 

 explained above, the ordeal is nothing like as unpleasant as it is 

 sometimes imagined to be. The first sting is the worst, but when it 

 is then found that it is not so terrifying as was expected, confidence 

 is restored. The new keeper of bees can then go forward into the 

 craft with less trepidation, and with that expectation of pleasure 

 at being able to handle bees dexterously that is the reward of every 

 careful bee-keeper. 



