THE INDUSTRIES OF THE HIVE 63 



and it plasters into immobility all the modern appli- 

 ances of the hive which man invented to be movable; 

 and section-boxes are so stained with it that they 

 have to be scraped before being sent to market. 

 Above all, it gets on the hands of the operator, so 

 that the digits of each act as one, or not at all, and 

 everything touched sticks to them as if they were 

 magnets; it also daubs the clothing, and if profane 

 men were ever bee-keepers, it would incite them 

 to wicked remarks. However, alcohol, applied to 

 hands and clothing, solves the difficulty by dissolving 

 the propolis; and a bottle of it is a most necessary 

 adjunct to the equipment of the apiary. Benzine, 

 gasoline, ether, and chloroform are as efficacious 

 as alcohol, but not so pleasant to use. Boiling lye 

 will clean clothes and apparatus that have become 

 clogged with bee-glue. 



