Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-06-16
Handling Honey Bees Without Get
ting Stung.

Honey bees Wnen 0lleQ with liquid
sweets never volunteer an attack. How
can bees be made to fill themselves with
liquid sweet. In many ways. When
ever bees in hive are frightened they
at once fill themselves with honey to pre-
pare for any emergency that may arise.
Bees fill themselves with honey before
leaving the hive in natural swarming.
This is the secret of the ready handling
of swarm. They have prepared them
selves in this case. Sometimes few UNI
filled bees join swarm and are trouble
some, but generally the whole body of a
swarm are well filled and peaceable, so
that they can be handled without danger
When the manipulation wishes to make
bees fill themselves with honey the sim
plest way is to make rolls OF dry cotton
cloth, five or six inches long, to slip un-
der the entrance of the hive. Light it
with match, place it on q piece of tin to
prevent charring the stand, and shove it
under the entrance of the hive. In few
moments the bees will have filled them
selves with honey. The hive can then be
opened and the bees handled with impu-
nifty.
Every bee.keeper should have these
rolls always ready. In the midst Of
honey harvest hives may be opened with
is gathered the bees are much more cross,
and need to be subdued before attempting
to handle the combs. Bees are always
handled more easily in the middle of the
day. Then many Of the bees are abroad,
and the honey board or quilt and frames
are loosened without jarring the combs.
The propolis with which they are glued
is soft after the hive gets warm. In the
morning and evening il is brittle. There
is a popular, but most erroneous, idea
that bees may be best managed at night.
Never open your bees at night, for they
are more cross than in the middle of the
day. They are necessarily more Jared in
loosening the frames and more easily ex-
cited. When they fly out many will not
return to the hive. They will remain on
you, crawl up your sleeves or under your
clothes, and are much more difficult to
get rid of. In the day they fly and rejoin
the swarm. The most expert apiarian is
almost sure of being stung if he opens his
bees at night. Bees are quickly subdued
by sprinkling them with sweetened water
or syrup. They greedily devour it and
become peaceable, This method is not
generally to be recommended, because if
other bees are near they are apt to be at
tracted by it, and robbing is induced,
especially if they are gathering but little
honey.
Golden rule about stings: Move gently,
never dodge or strike at bee. If you are
stung never finch, and remove the sting
with knife blade or thumb nail pressed
firmly against the flesh, dragging or rub
bing it outward from the flesh. Do not
become excited or blow your breath upon
them. In ordinary management one who
does not finch even when stung
will not be poisoned half so severe
ly as one who does. The finch of the
manipulator is evidence to the bee that
the sting is effective; but if he does not
finch, the bee, unless greatly excited,
seems to conclude that it is ineffective,
an1 Immediately attempts, by working
around and around, to eXtricate itself
without losing its stinger, which is Ger
tain death. Often has the writer tempted
bees to sting lfim and watch their efforts
at extrication when convinced that they
were mistaken because the sting caused
no movement. A sudden effort to dislodge
bee will almost surely cause a severe
sting. Do not catch the bee and attempt
to jerk it from the flesh, for in most in
stances time is given to make the wound
far severer than at first intended. Never
sieZe the stinger between the thumb and
finger to extract it. This mode. of eX-
tracing will squeeze all the poison from
the poison bag into the wound. The
poison runs slowly through the point of
the stnger into the wound, and if quickly
pressed or rubbed outward from the
flesh as described, but little poison will
be received. Pinch the wound or press it
with hollow key so as to force out as
much of the poison as possible Apply
some kind of an alkali TO counteract the
poison, such as soda, hartshorn or ammo
MIA One who attends TO the foregoing
will soon learn to care very little for
stings. Reo. j. w. &earer, In ", y.
Herald. n.