EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 369 



Remove part of the head or top of the barrel and turn it upside down, 

 saw the barrel off close to the combs and tilt as in the case of the box- 

 hives. Elevate the new hive so that the bottom-board is even with the 

 upper edge of the barrel. Blow smoke in at the bottom of the inverted 

 barrel and drum on the sides, blowing in occasional puffs of smoke, un- 

 til all the bees have run up into the new hive. See that the ends, or 

 edges, of the combs in the barrel face the entrance of the hive and are 

 not turned broadside. The bees between the combs will not linger so 

 long if the smoke gets between the combs quickly and the bee-keeper 

 standing opposite the entrance can watch the progress more easily. 



After the bees have been drummed out and the new hive set on the 

 stand where the barrel formerly stood, the best combs in the barrel can 

 be used in frames, as in the case of the direct method, providing the 

 bee-keeper is certain no disease exists. If the combs in the barrel are 

 not more than a year old greater care has to be taken, because newly- 

 built combs crush very easily in warm weather, especially if heavy with 

 honey. In drumming bees from boxes or barrels in which there are 

 recently built combs it might be well to separate each comb from its 

 neighbor with one or two wads of paper, so that they will not fall to- 

 gether. This also insures room for the bees to pass up easily. 



TRANSFERRING FROM BUILDINGS_, BEE-TREES;, ETC. 



Sometimes a colony of bees will hive itself in a hole in a building or 

 in the cavity of a tree which for some reason cannot be laid open. 

 AVhenever a swarm occupies a place where none of the preceding 

 methods can be used we must proceed in a different manner. The combs 

 and a few of the bees must be sacrificed but the honey and almost all of 

 the bees can be saved by using the following method: 



At the commencement of the main honey-flow build a platform large 

 enough to hold a hive of bees and strong enough to hold a heavy sur- 

 plus of honey, if honey should be found. Make a nucleus, a two-to-four- 

 frame colony, with queen. In making the nucleus the bee-keeper will 

 have good success if he proceeds as follows: Take from two to four 

 frames of sealed hatching brood without bees and introduce a queen; 

 screen the entrance of the hive and place the nucleus in a dark, cool 

 place for two or three days. This allows a great many young bees to 

 hatch and these young bees are not inclined to fight strange bees nor 

 will they leave their new location when placed on the new stand. When 

 the nucleus is ready to be placed on the platform fill the empty sipace 

 in the hive with frames of foundation. While the bees are in the cellar 

 set up the platform so that the entrance of the nucleus hive will be very 

 near the flight-hole of the bees in the cavity from which they are to be 

 removed. Cover the flight-hole with a board having a hole in the cen- 

 ter large enough to insert a double Porter bee-escape. Place this board 

 so that the bees can leave and enter the cavity only through the small 

 central hole and leave the hole open for a day or two before fastening 

 in the bee-escape so that the bees will become used to the changed con- 

 dition. Search out all other flight-holes and close them. To be success- 

 ful with this method all other exits must be closed. After a day or 

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