3G4 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



bottom-board directly behind the new hive, with the entrance at right 

 angles to the entrance of the new hive. 



After twenty-one days the worker brood in the old hive will have 

 hatched and the remaining bees can then be drummed out, by the same 

 method as that formerly used. These bees should be united with those 

 in the movable-frame hive. When uniting the two lots, smoke the bees 

 in the new hive a little and they will unite with the new-comers with- 

 out trouble. There probably will be a young queen among the last 

 group of bees in the box-hive, and if the bee-keeper has any queenless 

 colonies this 3'oung queen can be introduced where needed ; otherwise 

 take no notice of her and she will probably succeed her mother in the 

 new hive, providing a young queen as head of the colony. After the bees 

 have all been drummed out, remove the combs, extract the honey, ren- 

 der combs into bees-wax and use the box-hive for kindling. 



Fig. 5. — Guernsey Method. Bees transferring themselves. Queen above Excluder (original). 



THE GUERNSEY METHOD. 



Mr. A. H. Guernsey of Ionia, Michigan, uses the following method 

 for transferring bees from the box to the movable-frame hive. 



At a time when the box-hive is crowded with bees, usually in May or 

 early June, the transfer is commenced. The bee-keeper provides a hive- 

 body containing one frame of unsealed brood placed midway between 

 a sufficient number of frames of drawn comb or full sheets of founda- 

 tion to fill the hive-body. The box-hive is then opened and the new hive- 

 body, with brood and combs, or foundation, placed on top. In a few 

 days, usually, the queen will be found laying in the upper, or new, hive- 

 body; but if foundation only is used it may be a week or two before the 

 queen comes up. As soon as the bee-keeper is sure the queen is in the 

 upper hive-body a queen excluder is placed between the box-hive and the 



