The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-06-14

stung, and it is perhaps impossible to
practice b~eekeeping very extensively
without occasionally being stung, but
it is not hard to provide, very effective
protection while working among the
hives. A close veil may be worn which
will fully protect the face and neck
and rubber gloves will prevent any at
tack upon the hands. The body of the
veil is ordinarily made Of some stout
material like grenadine and the face
piece of silk brussels net. The veil
Is made like a sack without top or
bottom. A rubber cord, run into the
hem of the upper edge, holds it snugly
against the hat crown, while the lower
edge is tucked inside the collar.1
But the beekeeper hasa still. more
potent aid. Smoke is the greatest
known agency for quieting and subdu->
ing bees so that they mayo-b be handled
with comfort and safety. It's effect
upon bees is little less than magical.
Without it, modern bee culture would
be well nigh impossible. A roll of rags
can be used, or a piece of rotten wood
lighted at n end; but it is much
safer and more convenient to use a
smoker" which consists of a little
upright tin stove, three inches in di-
ameter and ten inches high, having a.
conical I'VE with an opening at the
apex At the side is attached a small
bellows. having a connection with the
base Of the stove. which allows the
operator to send a strong blast through
the fire Of rotten wood and drive the
smoke from the nozzle in a stream two
or three feet in length. A few :whiffs
from the 9mnEnr in Tho ontronaa. ~ -
hive soon causes the bees to give forth
the cry Of submission, when they ma
be handled almost with impunity.
A small start may be made with
bees and much learned Of their nat
ural history, without so much as a
back yard or a fiat roof, by means of
an Observation hive A convenient
arrangement is to have the hive in
doors. with the entrance under the
sash Of an upper window, thus bring
ing the fight of the bees above the
head of any one standing on the
ground. The glass sides OF the hive
permit one to watch the building Of
the comb. the filling of the cells With
honey, and the putting on of the dain-
ty cappings of white wax. One may
also witness the depositing of the eggs
~ 49, y AS 5AONN1 VI IIlG larvae.
the sealing up of their cells with a
sort of brown-papery covering, and
the Matching of the young bees.
A normal colony of bees consists of a
queen and from twenty thousand to
fifty thousand workers. Also. for a
few weeks in the working season there
are a few hundred drones.
The queen is larger and longer than
2, work ar and 10 thn nn1U ftIf1u lnyolnn-
ed female in the hive. She is reared
from the same kind of an egg that
produces a worker, but an abundance
of room in a specially constructed cell,
together with a generous supply of rich
food, brings about a full development
which enables her to mate with a
drone, or male bee, and to begin laying
eggs about ten days after she has
reached the winged or adult stage.
The mating of q queen and a. drone
takes place upon the wing in the open
air. Once mating suffices the queen
for her whole lifetime, a period of
about three years. The queens only
function is that Of egg-laying, but her
energy is wonderful. Often two thou
sand eggs are deposited daily, in the
height of the season. Each egg, not
much larger han a period In this
print, is attached to the bottom of the
cell in which 1t is laid.
The workers, sometimes improperly
called "neuters," are really imperfect
ly developed females; the small cells
(one-fifth of an inch in diameter, and
about one-half an inch in depth In
which they are reared and the scanty
supply of food dwarf them. They
gather the nectar, pollen and propolis,
bring the water, secrete the wax, build
the comb, feed the brood, ripen the
nectar into honey, seal 1t up when ripe
and defend the hive.
Bookkeeping, as a business, compares