48 



A YEAR'S WORK IN AN OUT-APIARY 



when I take the piece of wagon-spring used to pull the staples out at 

 the first visit (a long stout chisel will answer In place of the spring), 

 the smoker and a wooden wedge, 1% inches wide by one foot long, the 

 same being two inches thick at the big end, and go to hive No. 1, row 

 1, stepping to the back side of the same. The point of the wagon- 

 spring is now pushed between the supers and the hive, or between the 

 supers and the queen-excluder, where one of these has been left on, as 

 with the tiered-up hives. I now bear down on the "handle" end of the 

 srping, enough so a crack is made of suflScient size to insert the point of 

 the wedge, pushing the wedge until a one-eighth-inch opening all across 

 the back is made, when puffs of smoke are driven through this crack 

 to drive the bees away. I am careful not to make this crack big enough 

 at first to let out any bees; for if I do, they are sure to crawl all about 

 on the back side of the hives and supers, to become a nuisance through 

 my killing them, and their stinging my hands during the rapid handling 

 now required. By smoke driven through this one-eighth-inch crack, 

 the bees are "stampeded" in all directions away from the place where 

 I am at work, and thus are entirely out of the way. By the use of 

 the piece of wagon-spring as a "pry," the wedge is soon pushed in one- 

 half its length, this giving a one-inch opening into which I can blow 

 smoke, which is now done quite freely. The smoker is now quickly set 

 down, when one hand grasps the escape-board, and by thrusting the 

 fingers of the other Into the opened crack, the supers are lifted up at 

 the back end as high as possible without having them slide off the 

 front of the hive, and the escape-board pushed in as far as it will go 

 toward the front of the hive, when the supers are quickly lowered on 



t^cuvjoeR 





HOW TO PUT ON THE ESCAPE BOABD. 



to it. The smoker is now quickly grasped again, and a stream of smoke 

 sent in at the opening which this has made at the front of the hive 

 by the escape-board not being quite in place. The chisel end of the 

 spnng IS now caught under the back end of the bottom super, while 

 the other hand grasps the top (forward end) of the cover, when by 

 bearing down on the spring, so as to make a fulcrum of the escaDi 

 board, and at the same time pulling with the top hand, the supers art 

 easily and quickly slid in their place, so as to cover n i'cely the escape 



