REMEDIES FOR THE STING OF A BEE. 419 



single bee is violently slruck at, a dozen will soon be on hand 

 to avenge the insult, and if the resistance is still continued, 

 hundreds and at last thousands will join in the attack. The 

 assailed parly should quickly retreat fronm the vicinity of the 

 hives, to the protection of a building, or if none is near, he 

 should hide himself in a clump of bushes, and lie perfectly 

 still, with his head covered, until the bees leave him. If no 

 bushes are near at hand, the bees will generally give over 

 the attack, if the assailed party lies flat on the grass, with his 

 face to the ground, keeping perfectly quiet. 



Many persons erroneously imagine that they are quite 

 safe, if they stand at a considerable distance from the bees, 

 when in reality they are often more liable to be stung, than 

 those who are prying directly into the hives. If any cross 

 bees are about, they will be pretty sure to attack those whose 

 more distant position, makes them, to such long-sighted crea- 

 tures, so much better a mark than persons who are actually 

 touching the hives ! The use of a bee-dress will, in all 

 cases, give such a sense of security, as to enable the most 

 timid to take pleasure in the management of bees. 



Remedies for the sting of a bee. 



If only a few of the host of cures, so zealously advocated, 

 could be made effectual, few persons would have much rea- 

 son to dread being stung. Unfortunately, most remedies,, 

 instead of being of any use, like the prescriptions of the 

 quack, only aggravate the original complaint. 



The first thing to be done after being stung, is to pull the 

 sting out of the wound as quickly as possible. When torn 

 from the body of the bee, the poison bag and all the muscles 

 which control the sting, accompany it, and are in such active 

 operation, that it penetrates deeper and deeper into the 



