68 



PBACTICAL BEE-KEEPING. 



in our illuatration is guarded by a pin held by a loop formed of another 

 pin bent and driven into the wood. The extra trouble is here compen- 

 sated by the greater durability of the trap. Bees cannot pass an 

 opening less than 5-32 of an inch across, i.e., what carpenters would call 

 an eighth fuU, but this hole being one quarter divided and reduced by the 

 thickness of the pin is an eighth bare. "With our hive (arranged as ex- 

 plained at page 23), it is only necessary to cut off communication fronr 

 below, either by running zinc slips over the slots in the crown board or 

 simply sliding the super (if it carries a, bottom) the width of the slot, 

 removing its lid and shutting, the super case, having fixed upon it th& 

 pin trap, when, in a few hours, every bee having given up possession, 

 we appropriate "our share of the profits" without interruption. 



If a super be taken off in the evening, it is often well to turn it up or 

 remove its lid, and place some cover over it, which, while preventing any 

 bees from entering, will give those within room for clustering. During 

 the night, the cooling of the whole wiU force the bees to collect 



Fig. a. Cheshibb Pin Tkap. 



in a mass in the cover, from which, in the morning, they may be 

 returned to the hive. A good and simple plan for big boxes or straw 

 caps is simply to invert them and place a thin cloth upon them, upon 

 which the bees will collect as they travel to the light. Turning the 

 cloth occasionally will soon rid the super of the last tenant. 



If the bees refuse to leave in any case, the queen may be present, when 

 the super must be replaced. 



The extractor is invaluable in all large apiaries, as by its means honey 

 can be secured without destroying the comb. Enough has already been 

 said to show that wax is to the beekeeper a very costly product, but who 

 does not see how important is the preservation of every particle of comb, 

 when he considers that in addition to the wax, it absorbs in its con- 

 struction a large amount of time, and greatly exhausts the energies, or, 

 in other words, wears down the duration of the lives of the little 



