86 



ADVANCED BEE-CUI.TURE. 



in white or colored "duck," and are 

 light, cheap, washable and serviceable, 

 and, complete, or in part, are worn by 

 many cyclists and others. 



When the grass is wet, / wear rubbers 

 over the light calf boots. In the heat of 

 the working season I wear linen trousers, 

 a white cotton shirt and a straw hat. I 

 have seen the wearing of light woolen 

 clothing recommended, but have never 

 given it a trial. Ernest Root mentions 

 the comfort he has derived from the wear- 

 ing of light under clothing, part woolen. 

 But he does not perspire freely, and this 

 under clothing retains the perspiration, 

 keeping the skin moist. With me it is 

 the reverse. I perspire so freely that the 

 clothing is soon "soaked through and 

 through," and frequent changes are nec- 

 essary. Perhaps each will be obliged to 

 decide this matterby personal experience. 



The straw hat that I wear is a good 

 one, made by sewing together narrow 

 braids of iine straw. Such a hat costs 

 about jSi.oo. I buy a new one each year 

 for "best," and then take the last year's 

 one for every day wear in the apiary. 



I never wished 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 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 it will just slip 

 down nicely over the hat crown. 



Glomes I have never worn, and doubt 

 if I could be led to believe them a com- 

 fort. 



I know of no comfort in the apiary 

 greater than a smooth surface (of earth) 

 thickly covered with grass. A lawn 

 mower can scarcely be called a comfort, 

 it is a necessity. Sprinkle 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. 

 About the first thing needed upon begin- 

 ning work in the apiary is a smoker; and 

 oh how much comfort or discomfort can 

 come through this little implement. If 

 any of my readers have suffered from 



smokers that spill fire, that become stop- 

 ped up with soot, that go out, or from 

 fuel that will not burn, let them get a 

 Bingham, the size called "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 already mentioned. Keep 

 matches in a safe place near where the 

 smoker is to be lighted. Never be pes- 

 tered by having to run off some where 

 after a match. Above all don't keep the 

 smoker fuel and matches in the honey 

 house; the danger from fire is too great. 

 Rig up a box, or barrel, or old bee hive, 

 with a rain proof cover, for the keeping 

 of fuel and matches, and have it located 

 some distance from the honey house. I 

 kept the planer shavings in an old wash 

 boiler, and had it "burn out" once. As 

 it was out of doors, no harm was done. 

 Keep the cap of the "Doctor" filled with 

 green weeds or grass and there is no dan- 

 ger of blowing sparks into the hives. 



Have a wheel barrow or cart for carry- 

 ing cases, hives of honey and other heavy 

 articles. With such hives as I use, the 

 cover can be turned up on edge and 

 made to answer the purpose of a seat; 

 where such is not the case, a seat of some 

 kind ought to be provided. Dr. C. C. 

 Miller uses a light box 17 x I2x 9 inches 

 in size. This gives a chance for having 

 a seat with any one of these heights. It 

 should be made strong enough not to 

 rack and have hand holes in the sides for 

 carrying it by. A hammock in the 

 shadeof a tree, or in the work shop, is a 

 great comfort. Ten minutes rest in a 

 reclining position is of as much value as 

 fifteen in a sitting or standing posture. 



In the Review for June, 1890, "Ram- 

 bler" said: "For brushing bees from 

 combs, instead of using the little, inef- 

 ficient brushes sold by dealers we use a 

 large, Mexican fiber duster. A screw eve 

 is inserted in the end of the handle, a 

 long, strong cord inserted and tied and 

 the loop thrown over the shoulders, when 

 the brush is always at the side ready for use. 



