24 



Bee-vf.il and Smoker. 



All beginners should protect themselves with a bee-veil ; and a 

 smoker is absolutely necessary, both to the beginner and to the old 

 hand, if he wishes to get through his wot\<. rapidly without unneces- 

 sarily killing bees. Gloves may be worn until such time as the novice 

 has gained confidence. There are specially' oiled cotton mittens supplied 

 now that might be much better than gloves, as the ends of the fingers 

 are free. Gauntlets alone, or elastic bands around the sleeves, when a 

 person is not working with bare arms, are useful to prevent the bees 

 crawling up the sleeves. 



Beware of using soft-leather gardening-gloves, as they do not protect 

 the hands completely from stings, and they have the serious disadvantage 

 that after being in use for a time they become more or less saturated 

 with the poison of the sting, which is hable to be absorbed through 

 the pores of the skin when the hands are warm, and so cause irritation 

 of the cuticle in different parts of the body. 



Fig. 1 8. — Smoker. 



Fig. 19. — Home-made Bee-veil. 



Smoke is the best and handiest bee-quieter known ; a puff or two of 

 pungent smoke will send the bees to their honey, and when they have 

 filled themselves they are docile, and can be handled readilv if one is 

 careful. The handiest fuel for the smoker is old sacking rolled up 

 loosely. 



How TO MANIPULATE A HiVE. 



The smoker should be well alight and the bee-veil fixed. Blow a 

 few puffs of smoke into the entrance of the hive ; then wait for half a 

 minute or so. Next remove the cover without jarring the hive. It 

 may be well to remark here that all movements about the hive should 

 be quiet and deliberate, and there should be no jarring of any part of 

 it, as nothing irritates the bees so much as knocking their hive. Lift 

 one corner of the mat, and blow another puff or two down between the 

 frames while removing the mat. By this time the bees should be 

 generally quiet ; but keep the smoker near-by, and if they begin to come 

 up over the frames give them another puff or two of smoke. Care 

 should be taken not to overdo smoking ; bees will boil up over the 

 sides of the supers and also out at the entrance. The frames may now 



