176 A MANUAL OF BEE-KEEPING. 



them is placed on its crown, the other gently raised oft 

 Its board (it must be previously loosened), but not turned 

 up ; the Bee-master now places his fingers inside the 

 hive and his thumbs outside, the hive being fairly 

 balanced on his hands, and his legs pretty well astride 

 the empty hive. He now acts as if he were going to dash 

 the one he holds against the other, but they never touch ; 

 the Bees, however, go forward, and fall into the empty 

 hive. A few violent thrusts or shakes, well performed, 

 is often enough to empty the hive of every Bee. In cold 

 weather, when Bees are sitting fast among their combs, 

 they cannot be shaken out without first feeding them 

 by sprinkling. . A few minutes after having been fed 

 they will be found moving lightly about over their 

 combs, when they may be readily and easily shaken 

 out in less than half a minute. We often perform' 

 this operation by candle-light. By feeding the Bees 

 about sunset, and taking them into a room or Ibarn in 

 about half an hour afterwards, they can be readily 

 shaken out on to the floor of the room, and a hive placed 

 over them, and sometimes there is not a Bee lost by 

 doing it." This plan may be practised on old hives 

 crossed by the abominable sticks ; but from any others 

 I fancy the combs would fall as well as the Bees, which 

 would not be the desirable thing. 



TRANSFERRING COMBS AND BEES TO FRAME- 

 HIVES. 



A Bee-keeper would often use a frame hive, were it 

 not for the fact that his Bees are at present domiciled in 

 a skep, and he knows not how to remove them ; and as 



