The Sting 1 1 1 



'as if you loved him,' between your finger and tliumb, 

 wliere the tail joins on to the body, and he cannot hurt 

 you." 



If you want to do anything to your whole hive of bees, 

 however, it is impossible to follow Cotton's advice, and 

 instead you would do well to wear a bee hat, which has a 

 broad brim and a veil fitting over the shoulders. 



And unless your bees love you as well as you them, it 

 would be well to put on gloves and tie them over the ends 

 of your sleeves above the wrists. 



Although bee-poison produces such an unpleasant effect 

 upon healthy people it is known to possess valuable medi- 

 cinal properties, and in an early number of the " Bienenzei- 

 tung " we read of a man who discovered a use for bee-stings 

 that would have delighted Moffett and his predecessors, 

 who were so puzzled to find a good use for these weapons. 

 The man in question had rheumatism, and while handling 

 his bees was stung upon the rheumatic member, when, 

 greatly to his surprise, all traces of rheumatism disappeared. 

 Profiting by his discovery he repaired to the apiary upon 

 the next appearance of the disease and induced his bees 

 to sting him into health again. 



Others have testified to a similar experience, and more- 

 over bee-poison has a recognized place in medicine, being 

 used in diphtheria, eye diseases, hydrocephalus in young 

 children, erysipelas, cholera, certain fevers, and other 

 diseases. 



Constantine Hering says : — 



'■'■ Among all our drugs this is the one of which we have 

 the most preparations. There is but one right kind. It is 

 the pure poison, which is obtained by grasping the bee 

 with a small forceps, and catching the minute drop of 

 virus suspended from the point of the sting, in a vial or 

 watch crystal." 



