BEE BUSINESS 61 



Some beginners use "bee gloves," 

 heavy canvas affairs so thick that the bees 

 can not easily sting through them. When 

 I first began to handle bees I thought the 

 glove idea was a good one and as I had at 

 least one colony of rather cross individ- 

 uals I put on a pair of leather gauntlets 

 for protection. The difficulty with them 

 was that my fingers were so stiffened 

 that I frequently jarred a frame of brood 

 when I should have handled it with care. 

 Repeated errors of this sort so aroused 

 the bees that they went on a stinging 

 spree and quickly found the funnel-like 

 entrance to the gauntlets — to my great 

 discomfort for several days afterward. 

 My wife, watching me from what she 

 thought a safe distance, was noticed to re- 

 turn suddenly to the house, walking in a 

 stiff and awkward manner unusual with 

 her. 



A good bee smoker is just as essential 

 to a well managed apiary as are the bees 

 themselves. It is a tin contrivance with 



