ON BEES ANJ) MONEV. 169 



box and the bellows all ready, cut off a piece of the Fungus 

 about as large as a hen's egg, put it into the little box, set it on 

 fire, shut the box, and put the six inch end upon the nose of 

 your bellows, insert the curved end of the other tube into the 

 door of the hive, shut all other openings, if there be any in the 

 hive, and blow away I 



Blow, bellows, blow, 

 For you must know, 

 That all this smoke, 

 The bees will choke;— [OW Song.'} 



«--almo3t choke, not quite, for it is only a brief intoxication, 

 which will do no harm. In a few minutes, after a buzz or 

 two, you will hear the bees come toddling down, like drops of 

 hail, and they will lie upon the bottom board of the hive, as 

 harmless as "sucking doves." Give the hive a few gentle taps 

 on its top and sides, to shake them all down and remove it, 

 stripped of its bees, away from the place of your operations, 

 Take it to the house or barn, and put it into a dark room, 

 where robber-bees cannot get at it. Now, after sprinkling your 

 tipsy bees, with a very little honey, take another stock and put 

 it over them. Fumigate this second hive, though not quite so 

 much as the first, and leave it, after closely wrapping it round 

 with wet cloths, to keep oiii all outsiders, and to keep in all in* 

 siders. By the next morning, you will find a coalition formed, 

 and the two parties getting along quite comfortably. Keep 

 them confined, though not loholly without air, all the next day, 

 and at evening of the second day, take off the coverings and 

 open the door of the hive. The bees may rush out, but will 

 soon return and all will be quiet. As to which queen shall be 

 retained to be the mother for the long^erm, give yourself no 

 trouble, the coalition will settle that knotty question for them- 

 selves. It will be best for the operator to have an assistant, 

 and the whole success will depend upon expertness, coolness 

 and fearlessness. If you cannot procure the Fungus, take 

 common blotting-paper and dip it into a solution of nitre, (a 

 tea-spoon full to a pint of water,) and after saturation, dry it 

 by a fire. The fungus has often and successfully been used 

 22 



