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But supposing we find no eggs above on the fourth day after inserting 

 the excluder. Then we know the queen must be below, consequently we 

 remove the excluder for 24 hours so as to give the queen a chance to go 

 above, then try all over again. It takes a little while to tell how these 

 things are done, but in practice the work takes only a few minutes, some- 

 thing that can be done just after the noonday meal. 



The condition is a little complicated when the hives are of different 

 sizes. For instance the old hive may be 14 inches square while the new 

 hive may be 14x20, or 16x20. There will thus be quite a gap left at one 

 end at least when the one hive is put on top of the other, and the bees will 

 not tolerate any such condition. Before the new, and supposedly larger, 

 hive is placed on top of the old one, a strip of wood of sufficient size must 

 be fastened with a few small nails across the bottom at what will be the 

 back end of the hive, so that the fit will be snug. A piece of corresponding 

 size will have to be fastened to the excluder. When the time comes to in- 

 sert the excluder the strip on the bottom of the new hive must be taken 

 off, and this is the reason why it ought to be nailed but lightly. 



Let us now consider the case of a box used as a home for the bees. 

 There is really very little uniformity in the dimensions. In one apiary one 

 may find boxes ten inches square and thirty inches high, while not over a 

 mile away there may be found bees enjoying the luxury of a home twelve 

 inches in height, eight inches wide and two feet long. Where the box 

 nearly conforms to the dimensions of a regular hive it can be handled 

 fairly well by turning it upside down and setting the new chamber on top. 

 The bees object to going down into their home and soon transfer their 

 quarters to the upper portion, so in a month the chances are the lower 

 part will be practically free of bees, especially if additional room be added 

 above as found necessary. 



Another method of transferring the bees from a box is to wait until it 

 swarms, and this plan is the best suited for all odd sizes, such as the ten 

 inch square one just mentioned, nail kegs, old trunks of trees and such 

 like. While the swarm is in the air remove the box from the stand and set 

 it a couple of feet to one side with the entrance at right angles to the old 

 position. Put the new hive on the old stand and run in the swarm. Since 

 the old bees are not aware of the change in position they will return to the 

 old stand, thus augmenting very considerably the strength of the swarm, 

 but weakening the original colony in the box to an equal extent. Our 

 purpose is to drain every bee from the box and add it to the new hive. .For 

 a few days there will be very few bees flying from the box, but on the fourth 

 day the younger bees will begin to take up the field work. We now pre- 

 pare to entice them into the new hive by working the entrance of the box 

 towards that of the hive occupied by the swarm, so each night we turn it 

 a few inches towards its old location. By the seventh day from that on 

 which the swarm issued the two entrances should be side by side. Next 

 day when flight is free, say after midday, the box should be lifted to the 

 other side of the hive with the entrance turned away, looking west if on 

 the west side of the hive. The flying bees on returning will find no home, 

 and after a little hesitation will enter the new hive and be welcome as they 

 will be laden with supplies. 



Our box colony is now getting weaker, but there are still lots of young 

 bees in it, and thousands of larvae to be hatched out, so we proceed to 



