THE STING OF BEES.

Woodville Examiner, Volume VII, Issue 659, 30 January 1891, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE STING OF BEES.

“It is a fact not generally known,” says a writer in faience, “that if one holds his breath, wasps, bees, and hornets can bo handled with impunity. The skin becomes stingproof, and holding the insect by the feet and giving her full liberty of action, you can see her drive her weapon against the impenetrable surface with a force that lifts her body with every stroke ; but let the smallest quantity of air escape from the lungs, and the sting will penetrate at once. I have never seen an exception to this in twentyfive years’observation. I have taught young ladies with very delicate hands to astonish their friends by the performance of this feat, and I saw one so severely stung as to require the services of a physician, through laughing at a witty remark of her sister, forgetting that laughing required breath. Tor a theory in explanation I am led to believe that holding the breath partially closes the pores of the skin. My experiments in that direction have not keen exact enough to bo of any scientific value, but I am satisfied that it very sensibly affects the amount of insensible perspiration.”