8o AUSTRALASIAN BEE MANUAL 



When dry, and cut into strips about five inches wide, 

 and rolled up loosely of a size to nicely fit into the 

 barrel of the smoker nothing could be better. If a 

 number of rolls are made and dipped at one end in a 

 solution of saltpetre and dried, they can be set alight 

 at a moment's notice, and are always ready. 



GLOVES. 



Rubber, and oiled cotton gloves, for protecting the 

 hands can be obtained, and are no doubt useful to those 

 only keeping a hive or two of bees as a hobby, and 

 who handle them but rarely. The best are those that 

 leave the ends of the fingers free, but any kind of 

 glove would be a nuisance to those who make a 

 business of bee-keeping. 



CURE FOR BEE STINGS. 



When a person takes up bee-keeping and intends 

 to carry it out properly, he or she must make up their 

 mind to put up with stings occasionally. It is impos- 

 sible to work among bees without being stung now and 

 again. Though very painful to beginners sometimes, 

 and the occasional cause of much inconvenience, they 

 are rarely dangerous. I have known of one or two 

 cases during my thirty-six years' experience with bees, 

 when there was a partial collapse after being stung, 

 but the administration of a fairly strong dose of 

 brandy brought them round, without any painful after 

 effects. I believe in such cases a strong stimulant is 

 the best remedy that can be applied. 



Beginners who suffer at first may console them- 

 selves with the fact that the more they are stung the 

 less effect the poison will have on them ; that is to say, 

 the system becomes more immune to the poison as 

 time goes on. I am often asked for the best remedy to 

 allay the pain and swelling which with beginners almost 

 invariably follow a sting, but have always to plead 



