52 ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 



I will begin with the bee-keeper himself, or rather with his 

 clothing-, as his comfort is largely dependent upon that. When 

 there is much shaking or brushing of bees to be done, I prefer to 

 wear light, calf skin boots with the trousers tucked inside. If the 

 grass is wet, I wear rubbers over the boots. When shoes are worn, 

 the trousers may be tucked inside the stockings. One fundamental 

 principle about clothing to be worn in the bee yard is that one gar- 

 ment laps closely over the other, leaving no opening into which a bee 

 can crawl, and the lower garment should lap oz'er the upper one, as 

 bees almost invariably crawl upwards, and the clothing should be so 

 arranged that a bee can crawl from a man's foot to his head without 

 being led into any opening. Mr. Arthur C. Miller suggests canvas 

 shoes that lace well up around the ankle, such as are worn by 

 tennis and base ball plaj^ers and cyclists. Then he would have the 

 trousers come just below the knee, with canvas leggings to cover up 

 the lower part of the legs. His ideal coat is a close-fitting jacket 

 of light-weight that buttons up to the throat. In the heat of the day, 

 however, few bee-keepers, doing active work in the apiary, need 

 either coat or vest. The hat that approaches the nearest to perfec- 

 tion, in Mr. Miller's opinion, is the helmet. It has visors front and 

 back, and a ventilator all around the rim and the inner band. It is 

 light and cool, and protects both the eyes and the back of the neck 

 from the sun. Such suits as those described by Mr. Miller can be 

 had in white or colored duck, and are light, cheap, washable and ser- 

 viceable; and complete, or in part, are worn by cyclists and others. 

 Light colored clothing is not only cooler, but saves the wearer from 

 some stings, as the bees seem to have a decided aversion to dark or 

 black objects. I know one bee-keeper who dresses in white duck 

 from head to toe, and he is positive that it saves him from many at- 

 tacks from the bees. In the heat of the working season I wear linen 

 trousers, a white cotton shirt and a straw hat. I have seen recom- 

 mended the wearing of light woolen clothing, but have never tried it. 

 Ernest Root mentions the comfort that he has derived from the 

 wearing of light underclothing, part woolen. But he does not per- 

 spire freely, and his underclothing retains the perspiration, keeping 

 the skin moist. With me it is the reverse. I perspire so freely the 

 clothing is soon soaked through and through, and frequent changes 

 are necessary. Perhaps each will be obliged to decide the matter 

 by personal experience. 



I never wish a veil attached to the edge of the hat rim. It is 

 only part of the time that a veil is needed, and when it isn't needed I 

 wish it off out of the way. I prefer a veil with a string run into a 

 hem around the top, then the upper edge can be puckered up until 



