I don't want to pretend to be cultured enough to read books but I overheard a book tape my daughter was listening to awhile back. It was called "Diary of a Farmer's Wife" and the author was wife to an English farmer in 1793 (or thereabouts). She talked about harvesting honey by placing the skeps in a pit or hole in the ground, setting in some burning sticks soaked in sulfur, then covering the hole so the bees were killed. That particular year the husband used his wife's kitchen to prepare the sulfur sticks. In the process of doing this he spilled sulfur all over the floor as well as his hands. The wife was very vexed with him for making a mess of her kitchen and told him next year he could do that job in the barn. The next day the husband said his hands were too sore to help with the honey harvest so the wife had to do it alone. So not much has changed in the past 200 years when it comes to killing bees. However in this mordern age most men are much more sensitive to their partners' wants and needs and would never think of making a mess in his or her kitchen. Feeling very old, Ted -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---