6oo 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
fill every crack the bottom of which they cannot 
reach ; so that our movable frames, should they present 
much contact surface, are made fixtures, and the ven- 
tilating (?) straw skep becomes so impervious that, if 
inverted, it may hold water like a bucket. 
New combs, as previously pointed out, are var- 
nished by it, on the edges of the cell walls, which 
thus gain additional strength; and by its aid excessive 
ventilation may be reduced, or large, unw'elcome 
openings may be closed. The doors of skeps are, not 
infrequently, veritably curtained by a thin plate of 
propolis, to which a varying proportion of wax is 
added ; the curtains are carried dowmwards until the 
bees’ notion of security and comfort is met. Some 
years since, leaving, by an accident, three or four 
frames of a hive quite exposed above, the bees com- 
menced building out propolis, stiffened by wax, from 
the opposite edges of the top bars, until, by the time 
the error was noticed, they had very nearly finished 
a sufficient roof for themselves. From this practice 
of bees, in using propolis in their defence or protec- 
tion, its name has been given, from the Greek 
TTpoTToXt?, ‘‘ before the city.” 
Propolis is collected in largest amount towards 
the close of the season, as though in prepara- 
tion for winter ; and it now becomes a serious 
nuisance to the bee-keeper, often sticking his fingers 
together, and staining them a greenish-yellow^. Soap 
is almost powerless to remove it, but hot water and 
an alkali — such as soda or potash — succeed better, 
especially if the hands be first rubbed with oil or 
lard ; but the best plan is, before the hands are 
