Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-06-07
HIvINo BEES.
Sad Results Of Taking the Advice Of
the Agricultural Newspapers.

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the Agricultural Newspapers.
From the Cleveland Herald.
John Blahowsky, though origi-
nally Bohemian, has resided in
this country so long that he is thor
oughly Americanized and raises
early vegetables on the most mod
ern plans, as laid down in the agri-
cultural papers. He also has few
hives of choice bees that he pur-
chased last fall and from which he
intended TO derive much pleasure
as we'll profit this summer. John
did not attend the bee-keepers' con-
vention held last fall, and a few
days ago when one Of his hives
commenced to pour out a swarm Of
bees nothing unusual, however, in
numbers or noise), he thought the
entire lot Of industrious little in
sects were going to swarm, and he
rushed to a file Of his "farm papers"
for instruction in such a case. He
found that "bces are sometimes in
duced to settle by making a noise
in the vicinity of the hive with tin
pans, etc." so without waiting for
further information, he rushed out
doors with dish pan in one hand
and a bread steamer in the other,
which he began to strike together
near the hive after the manner of
cymbals. The bees, which had
heretofore entertained no idea of
swarming, hearing the deafening
racket outside of the clashing tin,
intermingled with yells that would
brighten cast. iron bull dog off the
premises, buzzcd out Of their hives
in countless numbers, and settled
ON the head of the innocent and
miguided Blahowsky. He ceased
his musical entertainment, yelled
for help and his wife came out, but
seeing his predicament, ran indoors
again and refused to help him. At
this juncture he thought Of the els.
tern, and feeling his way as best he
could to the same, lowered himself
down into its watery depths, where
the bees soon left him and returned
to their legitimate labor of garner
ing honey. Mrs. Blahowsky, look.
ing cautiously out of the back door,
and hearing groans from the els
tern, thought John had committed
suicide, and gave screech that
brought several neighbors to the
spot, who, after much difficulty,
pulled poor Blahowsky from his
living tomb; but what to do with
him after they got him out was the
question that then arose, for his
head was SO badly swclled they
could not get it through the door Of
the house, and if it had not been
for the buttons on his clothes, and
the way his feet pointed the kind.
hearted neighbors would not have
known which was the front side of
him, for his face was perfectly
smooth and looked exactly like the
back Of his head, which was bald.
He was finally laid in a wagon shed,
and the swelling reduced by pack.
ing ice over him, but this produced
other effects almost as obstinate to
overcome as the swelling, for the
quick reduction of his swellcd head
to its orr ginal size caused the skin
that covered his face to become
f1abby and hang down, owing to
its previous distention, until his
mouth was swinging around twelve
inches below his chin, and when
his wife tried to pour some nourish-
ment down his throat it was like
looking over a bed quilt to find a
moth hole to find his mouth, but
when discovered, it was drawn over
on the top of his head and he was
fed with funnel for several days
until his skin had warped back into
place again. John Blahowsky says
he will never try to hive a swarm
Of bees again by making a noise |
with pans; and the "Apiary De-
partment" in his paper may 60 to
blazes before he will read it. The
facts are as related to us by him as |
he leaned over an onion bed that he |
was wedding with patent weedcr
asst Saturday.