THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



clothing, part -woolen. But he does not per- 

 spire freely, and this under clothing absorbs 

 and retains the persperation, keeping the 

 skin moist. With us it is the reverse. We 

 perspire so freely that the clothing is soon 

 "soaked through and through," and fre- 

 quent changes are necessary. Perhaps each 

 will be obliged to decide this matter by act- 

 ual experience. W^e believe " The Ram- 

 bler " once described some kind of clothing 

 that was peculiarly adapted to the bee-keep- 

 er's use, but we can't remember now just 

 what it was, nor where the description 

 appeared. Perhaps he will tell us about it. 

 The straw hat that we wear is a good one ; 

 it is made by sewing together narrow braids 

 of tine straw. Such hats cost from .^1.00 to 

 !|2.00. We buy a new one each spring for 

 "best," and take the last year's one for eve- 

 ry day wear in the apiary. We never wished 

 a veil attached to the rim of the hat. It is 

 only a part of the time that a veil is needed, 

 and when it isn't needed we wish it out of 

 the way. We prefer a veil with a string run 

 into a hem around the top, then the upper 

 edge can be puckered up until it will just 

 slip down nicely over the hat crown. We 

 never liked the feeling of a veil tucked in- 

 side the shirt collar, but have yet to learn of 

 a more satisfactory manner of disposing of 

 the lower edge. Of course, no one needs to 

 be told that the material for a veil should be 

 light and airy, with the meshes as large as 

 possible. The sample of material sent out by 

 the Dadants strikes us as something unusu- 

 ally good for this purpose. Bees sometimes 

 become sliglitly entangled in the hairs upon 

 the back of the hands and wrists. To avoid 

 this, it has been recommended that the hairs 

 be removed by shaving or singeing. We 

 object. Every removal of these hairs causes 

 a more luxuruiant growth — longer and 

 more stiff and bristly. We would bear the 

 few stings that come from this cause, or else 

 wear " mitts " of some smooth, thin mate- 

 rial, before submitting to the operation. 

 • Perhaps some of the readers of the Review, 

 who have not seen its editor, will begin to 

 think he is a "dandy." Well, lie believes it 

 the duty — it ought to be the pleasure — of 

 each to give the person and clothing the 

 care needed to make as pleasing an appear- 

 ance as possible. Now that we have finished 

 dressing the bee-keeper, we will take a look 

 at the apiary. We hope it is upon a nice, 

 smooth lawn. We know of no greater com- 

 fort in the apiary than a smooth surface, 



thickly covered with "green grass," as our 

 little twins used to say. A lawn mower 

 can scarcely be called a comfort; it's a ne- 

 cessity. Sprinkle sufficient salt around the 

 hives to kill the grass a distance of six inches 

 from each hive, then the lawn mower 

 can cut all the grass that grows. We have 

 tried removing the sod, a la Boardman, and 

 don't like it ; there's too much mud after a 

 rain. About the first thing needed upon be- 

 ginning work in the apiary, is a smoker ; 

 and oh how much comfort or discomfort 

 can come through this little implement. If 

 any of our readers have had trouble from 

 smokers that spill fire, that become stopped 

 up with soot, that go out, or from fuel that 

 will not burn, let them send and get a 

 Bingham, the size called the " Doctor," get 

 a barrel of planer shavings from dry pine 

 for fuel, and take comfort. If there is any 

 trouble in lighting the shavings, use a little 

 kerosene from a spring-bottom oiler, as al- 

 ready mentioned. Keep matches in a safe 

 near where .lie smoker is to be lighted. 

 Never be pestered by having to run off some- 

 where after a match. Have a wheel-barrow 

 for carrying cases and hives of honey and 

 other heavy articles. If swarming is allow- 

 ed, and queens undipped, have queen traps, 

 self-hivers, or a Whitman fountain pump 

 with a barrel of water and plenty of pails. 

 A folding tent may also be a convenience 

 sometimes. We notice, however, that ours 

 is seldom used of late. Have a hammock, 

 either in the shade of trees or in the work- 

 shop. Ten minutes rest in a reclining posi- 

 tion is of as much value as fifteen in a sit- 

 ting or standing posture. 



Most of these comforts are comparatively 

 inexpensive. To think of and secure them 

 is often more work than to earn the money 

 with which to buy them ; but their posses- 

 sion often makes all the difference between 

 a season of pleasure and one 1 jordering upon 

 drudgery, to say nothing of the bearing they 

 may have upon the profit. 



Now we most earnestly request our readers 

 to write and tell us if we have made any 

 mistakes ; if there are other comforts more 

 comfortable than the ones we have men- 

 tioned. Tell us of the conveniences that you 

 have in your apiaries. Never mind if they 

 are not exactly in the line we have taken up. 

 Tell us of the little, comparatively inexpen- 

 sive helps and conveniences that, in one 

 sense, are the oil that makes the great api- 

 cultural machine move smoothly. 



