> ...belittling the willpower and determination that
>  these woodsmen possessed.

Please re-read.  No "woodsmen" were harmed in the 
production of this Bee-L thread.  

The simple fact is that many specific techniques 
represented as "sure-fire" in the historical literature 
can be refuted as "massively misinformed" when subjected 
to empirical testing in the modern era of far fewer "feral" 
swarms per acre.

This says nothing at all about the woodsmen themselves, as 
those who did the writing are to blame for not getting the 
story right.  The "naturalist" authors of the time almost 
exclusively relied on second-hand accounts, and the woodsmen
of the time were not in the habit of publishing their own 
first-hand accounts.  

Primary historical sources are few and far between, but those 
of us who kept bees before the invasions of tracheal and 
varroa mites can testify to the massive differences between 
"then" and "now".  We are the primary sources you seek.

> Lets have you put up some evidence.  Tell us what old
> techniques were discredited, and by whom?

I'll give you one classic knee-slapper, and you can e-mail me 
off list if you want more examples.

One of the most puzzling types of bee-lining boxes one can find 
has a small glass window in the top of the box and a cramped 
chamber, barely high enough for a bee to stand. (As I recall 
Aaron Morris has one of this type of box in his collection.)  
The "reasoning" behind the box was that a bee would, without 
taking flight, face the direction of its hive.  This is, of 
course, utter nonsense.  A bee will take flight and do several 
circles before taking off in a specific direction, providing 
very clear proof of the sequence of events for a bee "getting 
its bearings".

> I am of the belief you have absolutely no idea what they
> were capable of in the realm of toughness, and therefore 
> are unable to accept the history. 

"Toughness" has no relevance at all in consideration of the 
accuracy of the tales told by others about those you call
"tough".  I wish there were more first-hand accounts.
I can only offer my own first-hand accounts, and echo the 
accounts of those who I have taught to line bees.

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