1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



179 



spear could 

 not reach 

 even as far 

 as the horse's 

 nose. The 

 twentieth- 

 century suc- 

 cessor of the 

 warrior bold 

 of the Dark 

 Ages is ttie 

 bee - keeper. 

 He wisely 

 e n V e 1 o 13 e s 

 himself in a 

 coat of mail 

 i m penetra- 

 ble to bee- 

 stings, then 

 a ttacks the 

 horde with a 

 smoker. He 

 differs from 

 I h e baron 

 most honor- 

 ably in one 

 respect — he 

 does not give 

 donations to 

 wandering 

 minstrels for 

 composing 

 lying lays 

 about his 

 courage. 



HAT. 



Any-old hat with a fairly broad brim is 

 good enough for bee-keeping providing 

 there are no holes in it. The wide brim 

 keeps the veil away from the wearer's face 

 and neck. 



VEIL. 



The veil problem is one that most men 

 must settle for themselves — at least, that is 

 the experience of the writer. He began with 

 the ordinary veil shown in Fig. 5, but found 

 it very unsafe, as holes were c .ntinually ap- 

 pearing in it. Xow many old-lime bee- 

 keepers are perfectly satisfied with this form 

 of protection, so it must be safe enough for 

 careful people; but the writer may belong 

 to a different class. Besides being about 

 six feet in height, he is continually bump- 

 ing his head against such simple things as 



1 iL'. "i. — ijrdinary blaclc net bee- 

 veil with rubber cord around top 

 and bottom. 



branches, which a shorter man can miss 

 without any effort. Men of the modest 

 stature of five feet and some inches general- 

 ly prune fruit-trees to clear their own height, 

 and then wonder why a big fellow can not 

 take care. 



The Alexander bee- veil shown in Fig. 6 

 looked hopeful when it first appeared, and 

 so one was made. It is assuredly a perfect 

 protection from bee-stings, but the writer's 

 hf ad never seemed to get accustomed to it. 

 He felt its presence too much all the time. 

 One great merit almost reconciles him to it, 

 however, and that is the wonderful .freedom 

 from forehead perspiration in hot weather 



;luves with long sleeves to protect the wrists and arm 



Fig. 6. — Alexander bee- veil. 



when it is worn — no mean advantage, as 

 will be appreciated by those who must wear 

 spectacles. A hat-band is a great producer 

 of perspiration, which soon runs down the 

 brow and spreads itself over the lenses of 

 the spectacles, blurring vision completely. 

 Such problems as these rather complicate 

 one in the choice of a veil. In the writer's 

 case he decided that ready access to his glass- 

 es was of 

 more utility 

 than the al- 

 most entire 

 absence of 

 streaks of 

 sweat on 

 them. Hence 

 he prefers 

 the Cogg- 

 shall bee- 

 veil and suit 

 shown in 

 Figs. 7 and 

 S. This con- 

 sists of a 

 blouse to 



