498 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Ape. 15 



such times use the indirect method in pref- 

 erence to the one I am about to describe. I 

 suspected the presence of the beeswax-moth 

 in the end of October, and felt they had to 

 be got rid of as quickly as possible, for if I 

 did not I might not have any hive in the 

 spring. Direct transfer is, I am convinced, 

 one to be used on only urgent occasions, be- 

 cause the comb is usually so uneven that it 

 must be replaced at the earliest opportunity; 

 so one is thus brought right to the level of 

 the indirect method, but with lots of muss 

 and extra labor. 



Having all your tools brought together, set 

 your table in the most convenient position 

 and place the tools in the order you expect 

 to use them so that you will waste no time 

 hunting for them. 



FIG. 3. — REMOVING ONE OF THE SIDES OF 

 THE BOX HIVES. 



Assume your armor of defense — veil, gloves, 

 and do not forget strings around your trou- 

 sers at the ankles, as myriads of bees will 

 soon be crawling everywhere on the ground. 



See that your smoker is in first-class work- 

 ing order, though it is probable you will find 

 little use for it after the start, because the 

 ordeal about to be inflicted on the colony 

 will in all likelihood thoroughly demoralize 

 its members. 



Begin by puffing a little smoke into the en- 

 trance. Wait a minute; then give them 

 another dose; repeat a little later. Wait 

 two minutes or so, then lift the box hive off 

 its stand and place it on the table upside 



down; then place the new hive-body (empty 

 of course ) in the place the box hive occupied. 

 It is desirable to get at least one frame of 

 brood and honey into the new hive as quick- 

 ly as possible, so that the flying bees will 

 find an abiding interest in the new condi- 

 tions. 



Now on top of the box hive place the emp- 

 ty box, upside down, and proceed to drive 

 the bees up into it by vigorously thumping 

 the sides of the box hive with the sticks pro- 

 vided for that purpose — Fig. 1. The more 

 bees you drive up, the better; but at this 

 stage I could never get much over a pint to 

 vacate the combs. However, as the work 

 proceeds they will continue to come to the 

 top, and I generally jar them off into the 

 box each time I cut out a comb. 



TRANSFERRING THE COMBS. 



The next thing to do is to cut away one 

 side of the box hive. Fig. 2. Still keeping 

 it upside down, place it at some convenient 

 height, and commence operations by driving 

 the cold chisel between two of the boards. 

 With a flimsy box the wood will probably 

 split away; but with heavy lumber you will 

 probably have to cut the nails with a chisel. 

 At any rate I have never found any diSicul- 

 ty in removing one side of the box hive. 



The combs will certainly not be in the 

 fine shape and condition in a properly 

 cared-for hive, but they are more apt to be 

 curved and twisted in many directions; be- 

 sides, if old they will be not only black, but 

 so hard it will seem almost impossible to cut 

 them with a sharp steel knife; in fact, the 

 first temptation is to use a hatchet. 



On the table place the board that is slight- 

 ly larger than the frame. Some recommend 

 a folded newspaper or cloth on top of that so 

 as to protect the brood from injury as far as 

 possible; but it gets so sloppy and inconven- 

 ient that I have discarded its use. 



With the sharp knife, used as if it were a 

 saw, slice the first comb from the sides of 

 the box, and then cut it away from the top. 

 The comb being free, lift it and clear it of 

 bees by giving it a sudden jerk above the 

 empty box. If it be old and hard it will 

 stand such rough treatment; if new, brush 

 off the bees with a bee-brush or a wisp of 

 grass. 



Now place the comb on the board; take 

 the first frame, and adjust it on top of the 

 comb so as to take the best of it. You 

 want to save as much of the honey and brood 

 as you can. If honey is coming in freely you 

 will have less worry about the stores; but if 

 you transfer in the fall or early spring, then 

 save as much of the honey as you can. 

 Therefore adjust the frame to include as 

 much of the upper part of the comb as pos- 

 sible. Since these combs will probably be 

 discarded at the earliest opportunity, one 

 need not be very careful as to the direction 

 in which the cells are turned; but, all the 

 same, as far as you can, let the comb that 

 was at the top of the hive be at top of the 

 brood-frame. 



Your frame adjusted, take the carving- 

 knife and mark out on the comb the inside 



