8 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
the system we may pursue, will depend in no incon- 
siderable degree upon the extent to which we realise 
that the greatest possible liberties may with impunity 
be taken with this insect, notwithstanding its ability 
to inflict pain. To follow the footsteps of our fore- 
fathers, hiving swarms in skeps, and letting them stand 
until autumn to gather as best they can, and then, 
under cover of darkness, committing the industrious 
creatures to suffocation over the fumes of burning 
sulphur, requires but little of that courage upon which, 
to the uninitiated, the modern school, with its hives 
that turn inside out, would appear to draw rather 
heavily. Light is, however, being diffused, and the 
manipulations given in connection with our numerous 
county associations, at agricultural, flower, and other 
shows, have at least made clear that he who knows 
the art has bees completely at his bidding. Let us, 
then, describe how the learner may become master 
of the situation ; for his favourites will be more dis- 
posed to resent his interference at first than after 
he has acquired the method of deftly performing 
the necessary operations of a modern apiary. The 
warrior who has donned an impenetrable armour may 
well be fearless ; and so with the novice — the more 
complete the protection, the greater the calmness 
under unexpected difficulty — so that, if he would 
avoid even risk, he may dress thus : Gloves of india- 
rubber, like those used by photographers, and which 
are lined, for those consisting of rubber exclusively, 
although less clumsy, are too troublesome to get on 
and off. Yet this difficulty may be lessened by the 
use of French-chalk dust, commonly called “boot 
