4>? Advanced Bcc Culture 



tools, a case of honey, or something of that sort, such an arrangement 

 is quite a comfort. Mr. Green is also the man who keeps kerosene oil 

 in a spring-bottom oil-can to scjuirt on the fuel in a smoker when 

 "firing up." 



!\Iost of these comforts are comparativel}' inexpensive. To think 

 of them and secure them is often more work than to earn the money 

 with which to buy them; but their possession often makes all of the 

 difTerence between a season of pleasure and one bordering on drudgery, 

 to sa\- nothing of the bearing the\' ma}- have upon the profits. These 

 little helps and conveniences are, in one sense, the oil that makes the 

 great apicultural machine move smoothly, and I believe it worth while 

 to enumerate a few of them. 



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

 clothing, as his comfort is largely dependent upon that. W^ien 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 garment laps closelv over the 

 other, leaving no opening into which a bee can crawl, and the lower 

 garment should lap over the upper one, as bees almost invariably crawl 

 upward and the clothing should be so arranged that a bee can crawl 

 from a man's foot to his head without being led into an\- opening. Mr. 

 Arthur C. Aliller suggests canvas shoes that lace well up around the 

 ankle, such as are worn by tennis and base-ball plavers and cvclists. 

 Then he would liave 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 ajiproaches the nearest 

 to perfection, 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 b\- Mr. Miller can be had in white 

 or colored duck, and are light, cheap, washable, and serviceable ; and 

 complete or in part are worn by cyclists and others. Light-colored cloth- 

 ing 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 man\- attacks 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 recommended the wearing of light woolen cloth- 

 ing, but have never tried it. Ernest R. Root mentions the comfort that 



