122 AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



CHAPTER XXI. 



TRANSFERRING. 



This is a phase of bee-keeping that falls only to the lot of be- 

 ginners. A bee-keeper who has had if but a very slight insight 

 into the freemasonry of bee-life should have risen above transfer- 

 ring, other than when he may have bought out a gin case bee- 

 farm for the purpose of adding to the number of hig, colonies. 



The maxim, "be gentle when amongst bees," never received 

 a better illustration than on the day I transferred a colony at the 

 Hawkesbury Agricultural College, for the purpose of obtaining 

 the illustrations accompanying this article. I wanted the views 

 to be original and true to life. To anyone who has not seen a 

 colony transferred from a common box to an improved bar-frame 

 hive, such illustrations will be extremely interesting, as few can 

 understand how freely and safely these pugnacious little warriors 

 can be handled when we set about it in the right way. Two or 

 three friends left Sydney with us to see that interesting operation. 

 One little fellow who had not been told that he must be gentle 

 and kind when amongst bees, took a stroll amid the hives, but 

 when a bee flew against him he soon quickened his pace, and his 

 cries and tears told that he had not learned the maxim. A 

 number of students of the College had the privilege to be present 

 to watch and take lessons in transferring. At first they were 

 very dubious as to my statement that bees can be handled as easily 

 as you can handle chickens, when you once know how. That you 

 can ,pick up bees in handfuls as you can pick up hand- 

 fuls of grain seemed to their ears to savour somewhat 

 of the Eougemont type of phraseology. When the gin 

 case of bees was picked up and carried to the work-table^ 

 the bearer discarding all bee protection whatever; and when the 

 manipulator dofifed coat, turned up his shirt sleeves, and com- 

 menced to break up the old box for the purpose of getting at its 

 contents to put them into bar-frames, it was a picture to see how 

 the uninitiated amongst those students stood back and wondered 



