466 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



June 1. 



put them off and on frequently. In this I can't 

 so well deny myself as I ,might in the other 

 case." 



He also refers to Mr. Ernest Root's method of 

 wearing his bee-veil under his suspenders, and 

 says it will do very well for the men, in warm 

 weather. " But," Jae says, " in such a case, 

 whatever and ever are the ladies to do, pray 

 tell ■?" Now, I think that Mr. Hasty need not 

 worry about the ladies. When it comes to fas- 

 tening on a bee-hat or a bee-veil, they are away 

 ahead. I confess, my way is so simple I never 

 thought of telling any one about it until one 

 day Dr. Miller, who always lets his hang loose, 

 complained of bees bothering him by getting 

 under his veil, when 1 asked him why he didn't 

 fasten his veil down as I did mine. He did so, 

 and has fastened it down ever since. He had 

 seen me fasten mine down for years, but I sus- 

 pect he considered it I'alher fussy and a waste 

 of time, though I think it would take about 

 three times as much time to get one bee out 

 from under the veil, to say nothing of the sting. 



I will say, for Mr. Hasty's benefit, that Dr. 

 Miller uses his spectacles, and samples honey 

 quite often too, without unfastening his veil. 

 We use a bee-veil with an elastic cord around 

 the bottom. In the center of the front of the veil, 

 at the lower edge, we place a large safety-pin, 

 catching it through the hem of the veil, over 

 the elastic coi'd, so there will be no danger of 

 tearing out. It is always left hanging to the 

 veil when not in use. When we put our hats 

 on, the pins are there, ready for use. I usually 

 fasten my pin by catching it through a button- 

 hole ; if not, I pin it to my waist. Dr. Miller 

 pins his to one suspender when wearing neither 

 coat nor vest. One pin is all that is needed, and 

 the hand can be easily slipped under the veil 

 when necessary. I pity the poor men, who can 

 not pin their hats on with a hat-pin. However, 

 Dr. Millt-r thinks he gets on very nicely by ty- 

 ing his hat on with strings when it is very 

 windy. But then, he doesn't know the comfort 

 of a hat-pin. 



Now, Mr. Hasty, please try my way and see if 

 it isn't simpler, easier, more comfortable, and 

 saving in time, having the security of the Por- 

 ter plan, with the added advantage of compara- 

 tively free intercourse with any part of the face. 



Mr. Hutchinson thinks an elastic iu front 

 would result in numerous folds in front of the 

 face to obstruct the vision. In this locality, 

 such a thing doesn't happen. 



Marengo, III. 



[It is seldom that we do much with the bees 

 unless it is so warm that we can work by work- 

 ing briskly with comfort without coal or vest; 

 and then we know of no plan that is quite so 

 handy as the suspender plan, illustrated in our 

 last issue. The only objection is, it can not be 

 used by the ladies. So far we know of no plan 

 for then, that is any better than the one sug- 

 gested by Miss Wilson. At all events, we would 

 have the veil so arranged that honey-drippings, 

 that will somehow get on the lingers, may be 



licked off; for there is no comfort in handling a 

 smoker or any other tool with sticky fingers, 

 and we are not afraid to lick our fingers clean 

 of most of the honey that may accumulate on 

 them during the operation of handling heavy 

 combs, for instance. Perhaps some of you may 

 think this is a slovenly way. Think of it as 

 you may. it is the way we clean honeyed fin- 

 gers except when the grass is dewy, when we 

 just simply run them through the blades, till 

 the sticky honey is wiped off. But when work- 

 ing in the hot sun most bee-keepers find it nec- 

 essary to take a drink of water occasionally. 

 We do not even stop to raise the veil — we drink 

 through it; and clear water never soils the 

 veil nor harms it; and, besides, the line of vi- 

 sion is away above the point that may be tem- 

 porarily obscured by the particles of water. — 

 Ed.] 



THE NEW DOVETAIL HIVE. 



In the article by Dr. Miller, following, the 

 reader will gel some idea of the recent im- 

 provements that have been made in the Dove- 

 tailed hive; these are only slight, and confined 

 entirely to the brood-frame and follower. The 

 following cross-section will show you that the 

 new hive is practically the old one. 



Some time ago a number of our subscribers, 

 conspicuously among whom was Dr. C. C. Mil- 

 ler, advised that the top-bar of the Hoffman 

 frame be made l)i inches wide, and full J^ inch 

 deep at the sides. The one last year was 1^ 

 wide, the sides being cut down to allow for the 

 comb-guide. On comparing a large number of 

 reports it was evident that the wider and deep- 

 er top-bar gave better results in the exclusion 

 of burr-combs and especially brace-combs, or 

 those combs built between the top-bars. 



The extra width makes exactly 3^-inch space 

 between the top-bars, or what is now regarded 

 as the most correct bee-space, in which the 

 bees are the least liable to build comb ordeposit 

 propolis. The demand for this change became 

 so strong that we finally consented to make the 

 top-bars wider and deeper; but by making the 

 top-bar 1>8 inches wide, we found we should 

 run into a snag, as it didn't leave finger-room 

 sufficient to get hold of the ends of the frames 

 when spaced so close together. We, therefore, 

 at the suggestion of one of our subscribers. Mr. 

 J. A. Scudder, narrowed down the projecting 



