Comforts and Conveniences in the Apiary 51 



a blaze from a match — much more so than fresh fuel. Keep matches in 

 a safe place near where the smoker is to be lighted. Never be pestered 

 by having to run off somewhere after a match. Above all, don't keep 

 the smoker fuel and matches in the honey-house, as the danger from 

 fire is too great. Rig up a box or a barrel or an old hive, with a rain- 

 proof cover, and have it located some distance from the honey-house. 

 I kept the fuel 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 smoker filled 

 with green weeds or grass, and there is no danger of blowing sparks 

 into tlie hives. 



Have a wheelbarrow for carrying cases, hives of honey, and other 

 heavy articles. In making a wheelbarrow, some bee-keepers have used 

 a wheel from some old discarded bicycle, the pneumatic tire doing away 

 with the jolts in carrying honey or hives of bees. 



With such hives as I use, the cover can be turned up on edge and 

 used as a seat. Where such is not the case, a seat of some kind ought 



The Coggshall Bee-brush. 



to be provided. A light box 17x12x9 gives a chance for having a seat 

 with any one of these heights. It should be strong enough not to rack, 

 and have hand-holes in the side for carrying it. 



A hammock in the shade of a tree, or in the work-shop, is a great 

 comfort. Ten minutes' rest in a reclining position is of nearly twice the 

 value of that taken in a standing or sitting posture. 



For brushing bees off the combs I know of nothing more effectual 

 or comfortable to both the operator and the bees than the so-called 

 Coggshall brush, which is a sort of whisk-broom, with the strands 

 thinned out, and longer than the ordinary whisk-broom, so as to enable 

 the operator to give a soft, pliable, easy sweep of the combs. In using 

 this brush it is not intended that the combs be brushed with the ends of 

 the strands, as one would sweep a floor. Instead, the brush is laid flatwise 

 against the comb, and given a quick, sharp, lateral sweep. 



Let each bee-keeper look about his apiary and see if he is not doing 

 some of his work in an awkward manner — one that might be avoided bv 

 providing a few comforts and conveniences. 



