224 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



the bee-hat must be taken along when we go to an out- 

 apiary, I sometimes have in my pocket a veil made with 

 a rubber cord shirred into each end, and when I reach 

 the apiary the veil is slipped on over the hat I am wear- 

 ing. 



The openings at the wrist and neck of my shirt are 

 small, the cloth lapping over so as to give a bee little 

 chance for entrance. If bees are likely to be on the 

 ground, my pants are put inside my stockings. I get a 

 great many stings on my hands, but the inconvenience 

 and discomfort of any sort of gloves would be to me 

 worse than the stings. 



My assistant prefers to wear gloves, not only to 

 avoid the stings, but to avoid the bee-glue. I may say 

 in passing that I am not always very particular about 

 getting the bee-glue off my hands, but when I do clean 

 them I usually give the bee-glue a good rubbing with 

 butter or grease, and then wash off with soap and water. 

 I confess I don't very much mind having bee-glue on 

 my hands unless there is so much of it that it sticks to 

 the bed-clothes at night. But I do abhor the sticky feel- 

 ing of honey on my hands, and when they get daubed, if 

 I have no water I pick up some soil to rub them with. 

 That at least takes away the sticky feeling. Perhaps 

 you think the soil is worse than the honey. I don't. 



BEE-GLOVES. 



For some time Miss Wilson wore a kind of cheap 

 v/hite glove that I think was made of pig-skin. She 

 dislikes the smell of oiled canvas gloves, although to me 

 the smell is not very bad, and the smell of the pig-skin 

 is horrid. Latterly she wears light buckskin. They are 

 fvee from smell, and wash well. 



