27 



BEE- VEIL 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 work rapidly, without unnecessarily killing bees. As 

 for gloves, to me they are a nuisance, therefore I never wear them. 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, where 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 liable to be absorbed through the pores of 

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

 difierent parts of the body. 



Wire-cloth Bee-veil. 



Bee-smoker. 



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 pretty docile, and can be handled readily if one is 

 careful. The handiest fuel for the smoker is old dry 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 (see Plate VIII) ; then wait 

 for half a minute or so. Next remove the cover without jarring the hive. 



