.lUNE 1, 1915 



463 



fii-st, for 1 tried it at once on a tine $2 

 tested queen. Well, 1 clipped her all rijj:ht, 

 but not tlie wings; and I voted that way too 

 expensive for me. So, in thinking the mat- 

 ter over I hit on the following way which I 

 have liked well enough to continue ever 

 since. 1 never have a queen lost from 

 clipping. 



To clip now, I open the liive as carefully 

 as possible, so as not to alarm them, as it 

 is easier thus both to find the queen and to 

 catch her. When tlie queen is seen I set the 

 left-hand end of the frame on the edge of 

 the hive, or, more frequently, on my left 

 knee, as T always sit when clipping, thus 

 freeing my left hand. Catching the queen 

 by both wings with thumb and fore finger 

 of my left hand I set the comb back in the 

 hive by letting the free end down until the 

 projecting top-bar comes to the rabbet, then 

 lower the end I have hold of till the bottom 

 of the frame rests on the other end of the 

 hive, the frame thus hanging in the hive at 

 the left end. and projecting out at the right 

 end. I now take the shears, which are laid 

 somewhere convenient to my right hand, 

 and lower the queen until her feet touch my 

 left knee, when she grabs hold and begins 

 to pull; and as soon as her legs are thus 

 engaged, and out of the way, I slip the 

 point of the shears over whichever part of 

 either wing I wish to cut. and just a second 

 glance to make sure her leg's are on my 

 knee — ^nip ! and she is clipped, and running 

 around on my knee, while the onlj' part I 

 have touched is between my thumb and 

 finger. 



I immediately set the point of the scissors 

 down flat across her pathAvay, and, as she 

 starts to crawl over them, I quickly transfer 

 her to the top of the frames she came from. 

 If she starts to run up the scissors I take 

 them in the left hand, if necessary, to pre- 

 vent her reaching my right hand before she 

 is over to the comb; and it is a good idea to 

 iiold your free hand under her in case you 

 should drop her off. 



A little practice, however, will enable one 

 to clip very quickly, and without touching 

 the queen. As to her running on my knee, 

 it is covered with propolis where I rest the 



frames while catching the queen, so it is 

 hardly likely she will get any hostile scent 

 there. At least I find this entirely satis- 

 factory; but one could rest her while clip- 

 inng on a piece of board held across the 

 knees if he prefers. Any kind of fine- 

 pointed scissors that cut well at the points 

 will do to clip with. 



After clii)ping, close up the hive as 

 quietly and quickly as possible. A young 

 queen just commencing to lay is much more 

 " scary " about being caught than an older 

 one. 



There is a little knack, also, in getting 

 hold of a queen by the end of her wings. 

 I am not sure I can describe it so it can be 

 understood, but I'll try. 



Most queens, when the fingers get close to 

 them, take alarm and begin to run one way 

 and another; and if you follow up they 

 usually get very much alarmed, especially 

 young queens. Now, if you trj^ to grab a 

 running queen with finger and thumb apart, 

 you stand a good chance of striking her 

 body, and perhaps injuring her. The way 

 I do is to get her, or let her get, with her 

 head up, and slightly away from where the 

 fingers will be when I take her, and hold 

 my hand as near her as I can without mak- 

 ing her run. When I consider her in a 

 favorable position I slip my band quickly 

 up to her with my thumb and fore finger 

 tightly together; and when the points of 

 them are close to her wings I roll my thumb 

 and finger ends together by crooking my 

 finger and thumb slightly, thus rolling the 

 edge of my thumb and fin:ger on to her 

 wings with a sort of rolling or pinching 

 motion. Without opening them apart I 

 avoid danger of grabbing the queen's abdo- 

 men. 



Practice on some drones, or young work- 

 ers, and the knack will be acquired easily. 

 In clipping, alwa3^s handle combs quietly 

 without jarring, and do nothing to frighten 

 the bees. Keep cool yourself, and don't be 

 nervous. If you cannot do this a little 

 practice on drones or Avorkers may help. It 

 is perfectly simple and easy after you have 

 had some practice. 



Dunlap, Iowa. 



HIVING AND CARING FOR RUNAWAY SWARMS 



HV .lEAX WIIITK 



It sometimes hapjiens that a runaway 

 swarm of bees settles in a spot where it 

 niighl easily be hived if one knew how to go 

 about it. Tf one does not know, tlie swarm 

 will fly agnin when its scouts return, and 



locate in a hollow tree and be lost forever. 

 The process of hiving is simple enough so 

 that any one might safely perform it; but 

 often a novice with bees has not the courage. 

 Hees settle most often on the branch of a 



