STINGS 
783 
person used to be so seriously affected that 
a single sting’ would cause his parents to 
worry, for they feared he would not he 
able to survive the attack. He now handles 
bees with the same freedom that any ex¬ 
perienced beekeeper does. 
HOW TO AVOID BEING STUNG. 
If the reader will turn to the A B C of 
Beekeeping, also Manipulation of Colo¬ 
nies, subhead “How to Open a Hive,” and 
if he will read carefully the beginning of 
this article, he will have a general knowl¬ 
edge of how to avoid stings. It will be 
proper at this point to summarize and to 
amplify some things already said. The 
subject is so important that it cannot be 
gone over too fully, even at the risk of 
repetition. Whether one will be able to 
make a success of beekeeping or not, will 
depend very largely on how carefully he 
follows the directions given below. 
1. He should have a good bee-smoker 
with the fuel well ignited. The author 
prefers greasy waste, which is procurable 
at almost any machine shop or garage, and 
can usually be had for the asking. See 
Smokers. 
. 2, He should have a bee-veil that is 
securely attached to the hat and to the 
waist or shirt. See Veils. 
3. His clothing should be loose, not fit¬ 
ting closely to the body; a blouse or shirt 
with sleeves buttoned or tied securely 
around the wrists should be worn. If he 
is shaking bees from the combs, he should 
have his trousers stuck in his socks or 
folded around the ankles, holding them in 
place by means of strings. The shoes 
should be high enough to project under the 
trousers; and in the case of a woman the 
skirt should be long enough to reach the 
tops of the shoes. Or, better yet, let her 
wear a farmerette suit. Some of these 
suits are very neat and becoming. When 
bees are shaken on the ground care should 
be taken not to allow them to crawl up on 
the feet. If perchance they do get on the 
foot, it should be stamped on the ground, 
jarring them off. When the weather will 
permit, the man should have both his coat 
and vest off. A very good suit is that 
worn by garage men and railroad engi¬ 
neers in the form of a union overalls suit. 
Those who are very timid should wear 
gloves or gauntlets. See Gloves. 
4. One should never stand in front of a 
hive—always at one side or in the rear. 
When bees are flying to the fields back and 
forth they are more liable to sting, appar¬ 
ently working on the assumption that the 
obstruction has no business to be in the 
way. 
5. A good hive-tool is important. In the 
absence of a special tool, a screwdriver or a 
knife with a strong blade may be used. 
6. The middle hours of the day, if one is 
a beginner, should be selected for the 
manipulation of bees. . The novice should 
never attempt to open a hive on a cool or 
chilly morning, or late in the afternoon, 
and never after a chilly rain. 
7. One should avoid opening a hive or 
going out into the apiary at a time imme¬ 
diately after a heavy rain or after any 
other cause that suddenly checks or stops 
the honey flow. Either a rain or a cold 
spell may stop the secretion of nectar. The 
more sudden the stoppage, the Grosser will 
be the bees; and when they work on buck¬ 
wheat or honeydew, they are apt to be 
cross when the flow stops along during the 
middle houi-s of the day, until it begins 
again during the afternoon. 
8. Having selected a favorable time for 
the manipulation, the beginner should blow 
one or two puffs of smoke into the 
entrance of the hive. With a hive-tool, 
screwdriver, or knife, he should separate 
the cover from the hive by merely entering 
the blade, leaving a gap wide enough for 
the entrance of smoke, but narrow enough 
to prevent the exit of bees. A couple of 
puffs of smoke should be forced into the 
crack made by the hive-tool, after which 
the cover may be lifted and more smoke 
blown over the frames. The cover may 
be set down by the side of the hive. How¬ 
ever, it is usually advisable to jar the bees 
from the cover by giving a sharp blow on 
the ground just in front of the entrance, 
when they will quickly run in. This is im-, 
portant, because the crawling bees on the 
ground are quite liable to get under the 
clothing; and a crawling bee always moves 
upward. 
9. Before proceeding further, the opera¬ 
tor should carefully note the behavior of 
the bees. If they crowd up closely between 
