The morning news., 1894-11-09
THE LITTLE BUSY BEE.
Small, but a Terror When His Blood
is at Fighting Heat.
Making Friends Of Bees-How the Api-
artist Becomes Familiar With His
Workers-Bees' Moods and Their
Habits
From the New York Post.

! Workers-Bees' MOODS ana Ihelr
Habits.
From the New York Post.
Bee-keeping is a pleasant occupation.
/ The busy insects offer wide field for
1 study at all seasons of the wear, and gath
/ ering the honey appeals 10 the taste Of
an amateur very forcibly. There is the
nectar Of thousand flowers concentrated
in one hive. and a half-subdued aroma
is distilled from every piece of magtcally
built comb. With a little imagination one
can detect in the flavor Of his choice honey
the fragrance of the blossoms, the
sweet odor of the modest violets, the
blended perfumery of the wild rose and
honeysuckle. the subtle essence of the
dogwood, and the coarser Installations
from the challces Of buckwheat blooms,
goldenrod, wild asters, and late autumn
flowers. From the woods and fields and
gardens the humming bees have gathered
these sweets all through the summer, and
the blending of them into one liquid mass
only hightens the general effect of flavor
while the imagination separates them into
their original essences.
The attraction of the occupation has its
drawbacks. and occasionally discourages
the beginner. Bees, like western ponies,
must be broken in and taught TO under
stand that man is their master; then
come mutual love and understanding. But
until this confidence point" is reached,
the bees have rather the better Of the
bargain. In many respects the small fly
ing insects are better equipped for resisting
! s,,&. h@ et,v
/ broncho. The boldest cowboy would retreat
before an attacking party from a beehive
| where something has gone wrong to dis
turb the habitual equanimity of the col
! ony. The bee-keeper does not pretend to
/ be bold in the ordinary acceptatiOn of that
word, but simply a practical everyday
worker and student, wrapped up in try
/ ing to induce the bees to make money for
/ him.
/ The bees have an aggravating way of
| distinguishing strangers from their mas
| ter, and when a new colony is obtained
! there is always sure to be a scene. Ming
] ling with them is all right as long as the
veil over the face and gloves on the hands
can be worn; but the professional apiarist
! discourage the use of these as unnecessary
/ and apt to cause trouble. The bees are
| very sensitive to any changes. They can
! even detect nervousness and fear in the
/ operator, and are then pretty sure to take
1t requires nerve" TO approach q beehive
and handle the bees with impunity is only
| half telling the story If the uninitated
/ has never tried it, let him don the bee-veil
and gloves and try the work in this pro-
| tected fashion If he does not move warily
and with bated breath, imagining all Of
the time that stray bee is up mis- trous-
| ers leg or huniming under the veil, he de-
| serves the credit of possessing more than
/ ordinary human pluck
The chief point to learn in bee-keeping
is to treat the bees so that they will have
! confidence in you. If one stings you on
the hand, it must be endured with stoical
| Indifference for any sudden start or ex-
clamation would so disturb the rest of
the colony that they might not recover
for weeks. Besides, they would single you
out and refuse to let you return again.
The confidence point has to be reached
slowly and with great self-control. The
first thing to do is to put on the veil and
the gloves and then approach the hive as
though you were doing the most natural
thing in the world One false step or
move will ruin everything. The bees are
watching you carefully, and the first sign
of amateurishness will bring out the whole
colony Take hold of the top of the hive
as If it was piece of stone that you
wished to throw out of the road, and then
do what you have to do with the same
unconcerned, deliberate air. If a few
vicious bees persist in humming around
your ears and eyes, wait for an opportune
moment and kill them by clapping the
hands together over them. Above
all, make no noise or dis
turbance. Then repress the de-
sire to start on a dead run away
from the hive and retreat as leisurely as
you approached.
That is the beginning and generally diff
fcult enough. The second approach is
less fraught with danger. After a dozen
such visits it is necessary to take another
forward step. The gloves and bee veil
are taken off and the hive is approached
without any protection to the face and
hands The real test of the apiarist'
skill will then appear. 1t is not only a
matter Of bravery and self-control, but
one Of experience in treating the bees
as If you were their master. Most begin
ners get discouraged at this point and
refuse to believe that the insects will
not sting them while they lift the top OF
, the hive and make Investigations. The
, confidence point in bees appears like a
/ myth. But If success in the business is
, to be attained, this extreme trial must
! be endured The hive must be approached
4 | with the same boldness and unconcerr
I, as when the veil and gloves afforded
protection. If an inqustive bee attempts
, to explore the bare hand the creature
, must be treated as If 1t were an ordinary
harmless fly. A sudden jerking of the
: mana OF jump 10 one SlQS Wn6n another
: bee buzzes close to the car will create
a sad ending to the trial. The profes
sional apiarist 1t is said, so far forgets
himself that he scarcely notices the bees
, and is hardly aware Of their close prox'
unity to his exposed tender parts. But
) occasionally even the most experienced
! bee-keeper will get a sting. Sometimes ar
, especially unruly bee will hover around
his head, buzzing loudly in his ear, and
make threatening dives at the end Of hi;
4 nose. 1t is generally a thoughtful prepa'
ration to dispose of such untamed mem.
> bers Of the colony before interfering with
> the hive. The creature will hang around
, the head persistently, and while he is
i posing close to the eyes a sudden sweer
of the hands win crush him to death
3 without giving the alarm to the rest OF
the inhabitants.
In the course Of few visits to the hive
after this the bee-keeper plucks up cour.
age and boldness and begins TO realize
that the bees arc tamable after ALL Nat
= / urally, over-confldence in a beginnine
! tends 10 breed rec1lessness. Some DAYS
/ the bees arc specially angry and irritable
a. A.. g.