QUIETING BEES. 149 



QUIETING BEES. 



" With sprinkled water first the city choke, ■ 

 And then pursue the citizens with smoke." — Virgil. 



When performing any operations on Bees, either 

 depriving them of their stores, making artificial swarms, 

 or transferring from one hive to another, as well as the, 

 thousand and one things that an experimentalist finds 

 himself called upon to do, it becomes very desirable to 

 subdue the Bee's anger, or so to manage that they shall 

 never become irate ; and many schemes have been pro- 

 posed for this purpose, but they have nearly all resolved 

 themselves into one grand solatium " Smoke." Chloro- 

 form and burning fungus used to be the means practised, 

 but it was found that although they recovered from the 

 insensibility produced, the health of the Bees suffered — 

 so now " Smoke " has taken their place. 



To those persons who are smokers nothing is easier 

 than to light up a long clay pipe, give a good deep draw, 

 and while the smoke pours out freely, apply the small 

 end of the pipe to the hive's entrance ; but with ladies, 

 and with those to whom the pipe is an abomination (as 

 it is with me), some other means must be adopted. 



The instrument for which Mr. Cheshire obtained a 

 prize at the Crystal Palace, for its simplicity and utility 

 (Fig. 63), is formed of a simple briar-root tobacco-pipe, 

 costing about 6d., which is partly filled with tobacco or 

 rags. A lighted fusee is dropped into the bowl, over 

 which a piece of India-rubber tube, one end of which is 

 plugged up, is placed as shown in the engraving ; then, 

 by alternately pressing and releasing the tube in the hand, 

 smoke will be driven out of the small end of the pipe, 



