Vol. XVI. 



AUG. 1, 1888. 



No. 15. 



TERMS :»l.oc Per ANNUM, IN Advance; "I Jp fifrihli qTi pri in 1 R'7 ^ 



2Coi)iesfor«1.90;3for«2.76;5forM.00j -C/Ot/t*'C^t't'OA<'t>tt' l/lU ±0 'O. 

 lO or more,75cts. each. Single num- \. published semi-monthly by 



lirr. 5cts. Additions to clubs may be 



'■:r^^^^^^^'^''^'^\^. L ROOT, MEDINA, OHIO. 



f^' bs to different postofBces, not less 

 tl) . 90 cts. each. Sent postpaid, in the 

 ' ' .S. and Canadas. To all otlier coun- 

 tries of the Universal Postal Union, 18 

 cts. per year extra. To all countries 

 , NOT of the U. P. U., 42 cts. per year extra. 



BEE-VEILS; CONTRACTING, ETC. 



FRIEND DOOI^ITTLE GIVES HIS REASONS FOR RAV- 



IN(i A BEE-VEII. PERMANENTIjY ATTACHED TO 



THE HAT HE WEARS IN THE APIARV. 



ip FEW of our fraternity seem to thiuk that bee- 

 ^ veils can be dispensed with; but I think that 

 r the time has been in the life of nearly every 

 ^ one when a veil would have been a great 

 consolation, if they would own the real truth 

 in the matter. I can get along very well the most 

 of the time without a veil, but occasionally I want 

 one very much; and in order to have one when I 

 want it, I wear one all the time. Besides the stings, 

 T am of a peculiar nervous disposition, so that any 

 thing like something crawling upon my neck when 

 I am warm and sweaty irritates me in the extreme; 

 and even if bees never stung me I would wear a 

 veil on hot days when extracting honey, to keep 

 the young crawling bees and flies off my neck and 

 face. Then, again, there is a certain feeling of 

 safety from the unexpected anger of the bees that 

 gives one great confidence when with the bees, that 

 is worth more to me than all the rest. I work with 

 the bees, with no more fear of stings than 1 would 

 feel were I at work in my garden, while ray veil is 

 on ; but as sure as I try to work with it off, I am on 

 the lookout for what may happen all the time. I 

 have been stung very severely several times in my 

 life, getting over 100 stings in less than a minute at 

 .one time; and when any one says it does not hurt 

 to be stung, I am inclined to think he has a strange 

 way of telling the truth. The veil, as I wear it, is 

 little if any in the way, for it is made throughout of 

 bobinet sewed to the rim of an ordinary chip hat. 



I prefer a hat of this kind, all things considered, 

 as the white color does not absorb the heat, and it 

 is sufficiently firm to resist the wind to a better de- 

 gree than a hat of cloth material. The bobinet that 

 J use is that whose mesh is made in a hexagonal 

 form, for this seems to obstruct the vision less than 

 any other form, even though the square form of 

 mesh may be much coarser. To fasten around the 

 neck, I throw the back part of the veil back over 

 the shoulders as far as may be, then run each hand 

 under the suspenders in front, grasping the veil, 

 when it is drawn, with the hands, out under the 

 suspenders at the side. This draws the veil out 

 from the face all around, so it does not touch the 

 person at all, leaves a free circulation of air, and is 

 held as by a vise under the suspenders, if they are 

 of the kind which have rubber in them. 



CONTRACTION. 



"To how great a degree shall we contract our 

 hives when the surplus apartment is on?" is a 

 question often asked of me, and perhaps it might 

 be well to say a few words on that subject, as I 

 have, undoubtedly, in-acticed contraction as long if 

 not longer than any other person in the apicultu- 

 ral pursuit. Now, I do not practice contraction of 

 the brood-chamber as soon as the sections are put 

 on, as some do, for I hold that there is a proper 

 time for this part of our work, as well as in all else 



I which we do, and this time is governed by the time 

 our surplus comes in. If we contract too soon we cut 

 off the supply of bees that we must have to gather 

 our crop of honey; and if too late, then we spend 

 our honey in raising a useless lot of consumers. I 

 give the queen all the room she will occupy till the 



I main honey-harvest commences, when the brood- 



