REMEDIES FOR THE STING. 25 



perceptible on squeezing the hinder part of the bee — its 

 extremity is barbed like an arrow, and when examined by a 

 microscope, the whole of the sting appears like a saw with 

 very sharp incisions, which render the extraction of the sting 

 a matter of great difficulty to the bee, in fact, in the gene- 

 rality of cases, the act of withdrawing the sting is fatal to 

 the insect, as from its barbed nature, it cannot be drawn out, 

 without bringing along with it, a portion of the intestines, 

 the consequence of which is, the death of the bee. In all 

 cases, the sting should be extracted as soon as possible, for 

 the longer it remains, the more painful will be the wound, 

 on account of the venom continuing to flow down the hol- 

 low of the tube, and thereby increasing the virulence of the 

 pain. 



In regard to the remedy for the sting of a bee, many have 

 been prescribed, such as vinegar, urine, laudanum, goulard- 

 water, the juice of certain plants, as the dandelion, dock and 

 others, and oil of olives, which is said to be a remedy even 

 for the bite of a viper. The most simple and efficacious of all 

 remedies, however, is an immediate application of cold 

 spring water. A piece of linen soaked in water, and applied 

 to the wound, will in a very short time assuage the pain, and 

 diminish the inflammation. It must, however, be admitted, 

 that the remedy greatly depends upon the bodily constitu- 

 tion of the individual, and the particular state of his blood ; 

 thus, laudanum with some persons, will afford immediate 

 relief, whilst with others, it will be wholly inefficacious*. We 

 have met with some individuals, on whom the venom of the 

 bee appeared to be deprived of its painful qualities ; thus, 

 Bonner for instance, seemed to be almost venom-proof; we 



* Lombard is of opinion that the more frequently a person is stung, the 

 milder is the pain which he experiences. This must be a great satisfaction 

 to the young apiarian, who can consequently congratulate himself, that, in 

 time he may be enabled to carry on his operations with his bees, without the 

 attendant dread of their stings. Lombard was, however, a fanciful naturalist, 

 and the above was one of the, not least, remarkable of his conceits. 



