230 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



years I felt the stings to be the less of the two evils. But 

 after working for years to get bees that would give the 

 most honey, without paying any attention to the temper 

 of the bees, I finally had bees so cross that in spite of 

 the inconvenience I felt obliged to use gloves. 



My assistant prefers to wear gloves, not only to 

 avoid the stings, but to avoid the bee-glue. I may say 

 in passing that I am not always very particular about 

 getting the bee-glue off my hands, but when I do clean 

 them I usually give the bee-glue a good rubbing with 

 butter or grease, and then wash off with soap and water. 

 I confess I don't very much mind having bee-glue on 

 my hands unless there is so much of it that it sticks to 

 the bed-clothes at night. But I do abhor the sticky feel- 

 ing of honey on my hands, and when they get daubed, if 

 I have no water I pick up some soil to rub them with. 

 That at least takes away the sticky feeling. Perhaps 

 you think the soil is worse than the honey. I don't. 



BEE-GLOVES. 



For some time Miss Wilson wore a kind of cheap 

 white glove that I think was made of pig-skin. She 

 dislikes the smell of oiled canvas gloves, although to me 

 the smell is not very bad, and the smell of the pig-skin 

 is horrid. Latterly she wears light buckskin, which are 

 free from smell, and wash well, or else a pair of kid 

 gloves with a pair of 10-cent pickle gloves over them. 

 The latter are rather bungling. 



GETTING OUT STINGS. 



T like to get a sting out of my skin as soon as pos- 

 sible, rf not too busy. A little trick in this direction is, 

 I think, not known to all bee-keepers. I am not sure 

 whether I learned it by instinct, or from the writings of 

 G. M. Doolittle. If a bee stings my hand, I instantly 

 strike the hand with much force upon my leg, with a 

 sort of quick, wiping motion. This mashes the bee, 

 generally, and rubs out the sting at the same time. 



