GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 



1289 



Vn. Implements of Use. 



In bee-keeping, as in every other art, certain implements and labor- 

 saving appliances are needed. For tailing honey from the hives, the 

 bee veil, the smoker and the honey knife are all that is necessary; 

 and where the honey is made in the small movable frames, already 

 described, the knife is discarded. Indeed, the implements of use 

 are but very few, so fnr as successful bee-keeping is practiced by 

 the farmer. We have figured the smoker and the honey knife. A pipe of 

 tobacco and any well tempered, thin knife will 

 answer. There are centrifugal machines in use for 

 extracting honey from tl-e comb, when it is wanted to 

 be again returned to the hive. A cut of a good form 

 is given. This again belongs more to the i)rofessional 

 bee keeper than to the farmer. 



VIII. A Motherless Swarm. 

 Sometimes, from one cause or another, a colony of 

 bees loses the (pieen or mother bee, and has no hirvie 

 from which to rear another ; or, the bee keeper may 

 choose to divide swarms, giving a nucleus of Ihrco 

 frames. These are taken from the center frames of 

 other hives ; take bees and all, but be sure the queen 

 is left in the old hive, and shake among those in the 

 nucleus hive the bees from two or t hi'ee more frames, 

 so that after the departure of those that will naturally 

 leave and return to their old homes, enough will be left to keep up the 

 requisite warmth in the hive. First, however, you must tind a frame 

 containing one or more capped queen cells ; cut a triangular piece out of 



one of the fi'anies to be inserted in the 

 nucleus swarm, cutting away the bot- 

 tom as shown in the illustration, so 

 there shall be no danger of conipies- 

 sion of the queen cell. Then cut a 

 })iece containing a queePi cell from the 

 other frame, and fasten it to tli<^ frame 

 — see the illustration, also showing 

 other queen cells — and after putting 

 this in the nucleus hive, i)ut in the 

 other two fi-anies and l)ees as directed. 

 We could hardly advise the farmer Dee- 

 FURNisHiNG A QiiEKN CELL. kccpcr to adopt this plan, but it is 



well to know how, in case it becomes necessary to furnish a queen cell tc 

 an unfortunate swarm 



CMCNTKIKITGAL EX- 

 niACTOK. 



