MANIPULATION OP COLONIES 
577 
the hat, whence it can be pulled down, 
whenever necessary. A bee-veil, however, 
is generally worn by veterans and beginners 
alike all the time while at work among bees. 
It is annoying and disconcerting to have 
cross bees buzzing around the face with 
the possibility of a sting in the eye, nose, 
or mouth. The beginner will always have 
a greater sense of security when his face 
is protected, and the old hand works with 
less interruption. 
Gloves (see Gloves) are recommended 
to the novice when he opens a hive for the 
first time. After he has learned the habits 
of bees he may dispense with them, because 
he will at most receive only an occasional 
sting on the hand. Very often' experienced 
beekeepers wear a long gauntlet that 
reaches from the elbow to the wrist. This 
should be made so. that no bees can get up 
the sleeve. It should fit tightly around the 
wrist, or, better yet, reach far enough to 
cover the hand, leaving the ends of the 
fingers exposed. 
If one is very timid, or is unusually sus¬ 
ceptible to stings, he can wear gloves that 
protect the fingers as well as the whole 
hand, wrists, and forearm. See Gloves. 
In the line of tools a common jackknife 
or a common screwdriver may often be 
used in lieu of something better. But' a 
hive-tool made for the purpose is far su¬ 
perior. 
The subjoined illustrations show a form 
of tool that has given general satisfaction 
among beekeepers. 
19 
It is something that any blacksmith can 
make out of an old buggy-spring or any 
good piece of spring steel. It must not be 
tempered too hard or it will break. Each 
end should be flattened out while hot, and 
brought to an edge. One end is bent to-a 
right angle, and the other is left straight. 
The tool is then finished on an emery wheel 
or grindstone, care being taken to have 
the edges straight and square. 
The hooked end is ordinarily used for 
scraping propolis or wax from the frames 
or bottom-boards, while the other end (also 
useful for scraping) is pushed between the 
two parts of the hive. The drawing (Fig. 
1) shows the tool held improperly. The 
bent or curved end should be placed direct¬ 
ly against the palm in order that sufficient 
pressure may be exerted to shove the other 
or straight end between the two hive parts. 
Either end of the tool may be used for 
separating Hoffman frames, or, in fact, 
any style of frame that one happens to 
use; but the author prefers the hook end. 
This is inserted between the frames to be 
separated, as shown in Fig. 2, when a side 
twist of the wrist will exert considerable 
leverage, forcing apart the frames very 
gently. However, there are some who pre¬ 
fer to use the straight end of the tool in 
the manner shown in Fig. 3; but the 
method given in Fig. 2 exerts more of a 
leverage, and, at the same time, is less 
liable to crush bees. 
Fig. 4 shows how the tool may be used 
for crowding all the frames over to one 
side in one block; or one can, if he pre¬ 
fers, use the plan shown in Fig. 2; but it 
will generally be found that the one shown 
in Fig. 4 is more convenient. In Fig. 5 
the curved end is used to good advantage 
in lifting the division-board out of the 
hive. See also, in this connection, Fig. 9. 
Some prefer a hive-tool having a nar¬ 
rowed end like a screwdriver; but the con¬ 
tinuous use of a tool like this abrases the 
edges of the hives so that, after a time, it 
leaves bruise marks and cracks, inviting 
winds and storms, and robbers when they 
are prowling about. For separating two 
hives heavy with honey there is nothing 
better than a wide thin blade made of good 
spring steel, tempered just enough to have 
the resilient qualities of a buggy-spring. 
