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Thus, bees are not bad by nature.
But bees have the job of creating a family and making it prosper, collecting nectar and preserving
it. And to defend the family and the honey it has received a powerful weapon, the sting with its
venom. It uses it against all enemies, real or apparent, with a speed that nobody would know how to
escape from, and with a force against which neither veils, nor gloves, nor gaiters, nor the thickest
clothes can give protection.
As the beekeeper, however, provides his bees with a suitable home, sufficient stores, and as he
presents himself to them as a friend, he will be well accepted by the bees, and after a few moments of
communion, he may without danger shake his good bees, jostle them, even brush them aside as we do
frequently.
I do not know of a single other animal that one can treat so roughly as the bee.
I would say that there are two types of person who are at risk of being frequently stung by bees.
They are first of all violent people, violent in their gestures and violent in their words. Then there are
people who have a strong smell, whether pleasant or not. For example: people having foetid breath –
as the smell comes from bad dentition, or an upset stomach or from alcoholism; or people who are
dirty, or perfumed. But everyone else may keep bees with the certainty of not being stung by them, on
one condition only, that they are never allowed to suspect that they are the enemies of their keeper.
Now this should be an easy matter for those who wish to follow my method, each operation of which I
will describe to you in a precise way, and will detail the manner of proceeding.
Despite my affirmations on the gentleness of bees, I accept that certain people are sometimes
insurmountably apprehensive when it comes to approaching bees with their face uncovered. This is
why, with my method, I provide for using a veil, which gives the beekeeper the assurance that they
cannot be stung on the face.
Furthermore, my method reduces or eliminates the risk of stings. Driving the bees from one hive
to another is done at some distance from the apiary. During this operation one cannot therefore be
approached by bees from neighbouring hives or foragers of the hive being transferred. No comb is
removed from the hive with the bees present. The beekeeper therefore cannot squash or irritate the
bees. During the routine tasks of the year the hive is opened once, at the harvest. There is therefore no
frequent chilling of the brood chamber, i.e. no cause for irritating the bees.
You may therefore carry out beekeeping without danger of being stung. I do not hesitate to say
that when a beekeeper is stung by his bees he should always ask what mistake he has made.
The choice of hive
The second difficulty for the novice beekeeper is choosing a hive, i.e. knowing how he is going to
house his bees.
There are many different systems of hive and all have their enthusiasts and opponents.
This difficulty can be overcome. And here is how.
Do not try to experiment
It is not unusual to hear the novice deciding as follows: 'I will try out two or three of the most
fashionable systems, study them, and see which is best'.
But life is short, especially active life. Unless you are especially privileged, you will not be able to
reach a definite conclusion.