THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
43 
swarms of bees through their merely alighting 
on their branches, and it is certainly true that 
few people can handle or even touch some of 
these plants with impunity, the hands and 
arms, and sometimes the whole body becom- 
ing swollen and very painful and inflamed. 
The Nerium Oleander, too, is known to be 
dangerously poisonous. Of this plant it is 
related by Dr. Lindley that a party of French 
soldiers at Madrid, in 1809, died through 
having used some branches of the shrub for 
spits and skewers for their meat when roast- 
ing, and he gives a well authenticated case of 
a child having died by eating some of the 
flowers. Then various genera of Erieacete 
are said to be injurious to honey ; the Azalea 
(“ A. Pontica, or Rhododendron Ponticum,”) 
from whose flowers the bees of Pontus collected 
the honey that produced the extraordinary 
symptoms of poisoning described by Xenophon 
as having attacked the Greek soldiers in the 
famous retreat of the ten thousand, where the 
historian narrates that after eating it the men 
fell stupefied in all directions, so that the camp 
looked like a battle-field covered with corpses. 
All of the Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Andro- 
medas, Ericas, and others of the same order, 
may be looked upon with suspicion, as giving 
poisonous quality to honey. But none of these 
plants arc indigenous to Australia, though they 
are quite common in our gardens everywhere. 
The place of the Ericaceae is supplied by 
by the “ Epacrideee,” or Native Heaths, which 
are rich in honey, and which certainly do not 
possess any noxious properties ; as may also 
be said of the numerous species of “ Myrta- 
ceous ” trees — the “ Eucalypti,” “ Melaleucas ” 
and “ Leptospermums ; ” and of the “ Legumi- 
nosse,” such as our acacias, &c., &c., so much 
in favour with bees. No doubt many plants 
which grow in profusion in Australia are 
poisonous, but it becomes a question whether 
in a country like this, where wholesome trees 
and shrubs grow and flower all the year 
round, a wise and cautious insect like the bee 
would so far lose its natural instincts as not 
to avoid those flowers which are inimical to 
itself. Therefore, I come to the conclusion, 
although I do not state it as an absolute fact, 
that however much the honey of other 
countries may be impregnated with deleter- 
ious qualities from the poisonous nature of 
the plants of which they are the habitat, 
there is little danger in this colony, where 
our native flora is so barren of the genera 
which is confessedly the cause of the mischief, 
of our producing anything in the nature of 
poisonous honey. However, as I have already 
said, the subject is one which is deserving of 
the attention of, and close investigation by, 
all beekeepers, and of those who take an 
interest, whether for pleasure or profit, in the 
delightful amusement or industry, as the case 
may be, of apiculture ; and if my remarks on 
the subject have the effect of inducing them 
to more narrowly study the habits of “ the 
busy bee,” and the effect of “every opening 
flower ” has on the “ sweet food she makes,” 
my object and aim will be amply served, and 
a question of no little moment to the sweet- 
toothed generation or the public at large set 
at rest. 
Hints on Beekeeping. 
By W. Abram, Manager Parramatta Bee 
Farm, N.S.W. 
WHY AND WHEN DO BEES STING? 
Bees use their sting only as a weapon of 
defence when they believe their home or 
their queen in danger, but in the field or 
garden amongst the flowers gathering their 
stores, they never sting, unless accidentally, 
if they get hurt or squeezed. 
How far away from their homes they are 
likely to sting cannot be exactly stated, as it 
depends a good deal on the weather, the 
constitution of the colony, the treatment they 
receive, &c. I have known bees, when irri- 
tated, to sting people and animals thirty yards 
away; but, at ordinary times, they are not 
likely to sting over ten yards from the hive, 
and this generally occurs from the hive having 
been shaken, or perhaps turned over, or 
getting in the direction of their flight, also if 
you strike at them or make hasty movements 
in your operations. If one bee has stung, the 
others get angry through the smell of the 
poison, as they are very sensitive in this 
respect. They dislike dogs from their quick 
movements, horses from their strong smell, 
also the human breath, and some persons are 
more offensive to them than others. If your 
hat or clothing is hairy, or smells, if the 
weather is cold, and the bees at rest and you 
disturb them, or if it is very warm and close, 
if they are queenless or without brood, and yet 
strong, if the young queen is out for impreg- 
nation, &c., they are more likely to sting. 
Sometimes one hive in its normal state is more 
irritable than another, and even for a time 
will not succumb to smoke. 
The effect of the sting is very different with 
different individuals. W ith most people there 
is considerable pain and swelling, while with 
others there does not seem to be any bad effect, 
which, I am happy to say, is the case with 
myself. It depends very much upon the blood, 
and although beginners may suffer a good 
deal at first, they soon get poison-proof, and 
stings affect them very slightly, or not at all ; 
but be that as it may, I would not wish to 
