44 THE BOOK OF THE HONEY BEE 



arise. The careless beekeeper who, when additional 

 covering is indicated, hastily folds up an old damp sack 

 and places it over his bees, together with perhaps a 

 handful or two of straw, is generally rewarded, when 

 he comes to remove this covering, by finding a colony 

 of ants, or maybe a nest of mice, together with earwigs, 

 moths and spiders innumerable. 



The quilt next to and in contact with the frames is 

 quickly propolised by the bees. In the autumn when 

 finally overhauling for the winter, replace this propolised 



THE SMOKER 



quilt with a clean one. The old one had better be burnt 

 at once, and replaced with a new one ready for use the 

 following year. 



Propolis may be removed from quilts by exposing 

 them to frost, and then rubbing between the hands ; 

 after which wash with hot water and soap. 



The Stnoker. — This piece of apparatus plays an im- 

 portant part in practical beework, and is so contrived 

 as to place in the hands of the beekeeper a constant 

 smoke supply when manipulating. 



The smoker consists of a small wedge-shaped pair of 

 bellows upon which is mounted a cylinder of tinned 



