i;8 THE HONEY-BEE. 



completely harmless results would follow such 

 occurrences : for, it is not unfrequently the case that 

 a few bees, perhaps having joined the swarm with- 

 out having had the opportunity to fill themselves 

 with honey, prove somewhat spiteful ; and, notwith- 

 standing the general quietness of a just-emerged 

 colony, even experienced apiarians by no means 

 always escape punishment when dislodging a swarm. 

 It is, however, quite easy to secure complete protec- 

 tion by means of a properly made veil to guard the 

 face and neck, and gloves to cover the hands. We 

 strongly advise all novices, therefore, to make use of 

 these preservatives from stings, when proceeding to 

 get the bees into the hive intended to receive them. 



Some persons advise that the skep into which the 

 swarm is to be brushed or shaken, should be dressed 

 with a mixture of beer and sugar, applied with a 

 wisp of elder-branch and leaves. It is just possible 

 that the sweetened liquid may be drunk by some of 

 those not quite satiated with honey, and that thus 

 an increased quieting influence is exerted upon the 

 whole mass ; but the most skilled apiarians have 

 given up the practice, in the belief that it is useless, 

 if not positively mischievous, by wetting the bees, 

 rendering many of them helpless, and probably 

 destroying numbers of them. 



The facility of hiving depends altogether upon the 

 place chosen by the cluster for settling. From the 

 end of a bough, or from a low shrub or bush, there 

 is no difficulty in securing the swarm. Taking a 

 clean skep in one hand, and holding it just under 

 the mass of insects, a sharp shake is given with the 

 other hand to the branch, and nearly the whole of the 



