24, 



When manipulating a stock in a hive the frames of which are 



parallel to the front, as in the " C. D. B." 



61. Position of hive, the operator should stand at the back 



Operator. of the hive (Fig. 13) : under no conditions 



should the operator stand in front of the 



hive, as bees are irritated by meeting an obstacle in their 



line of flight. 



The operator must invariably bear in mind that success in 

 manipulating bees can only be obtained by 



62. Handling Bees, performing all operations gently and 



quietly, avoiding any rough or hasty move- 

 ments tending to irritate the bees or jar the hive. Carelessness 

 in lifting or returning a frame, or removing a section erate, 

 often results in crushing a bee and thereby giving cause 

 for the first sting, which may lead to the irritation of the 

 whole stock. A rapid motion of the hand may also produce 

 the same effect. When bees appear to be irritated and dis- 

 posed to attack, the operator should remain quite quiet for a 

 moment or two, when they will probably become pacified. If 

 the frame shoulders have been fixed by propolis, it will be diffi- 

 cult to move them with the hands without jarring them. In 

 such cases it is a good plan to press the frame gently back by a 

 lever applied between the frames close to the shoulder. If, 

 when holding a frame, or during any other operation, bees 

 creep on to the hands, do not roughly disturb them. When 

 holding frames, always keep them over the body-box, so that 

 any bees when falling may drop into the hive ; if the frame is 

 held over the ground the queen may be lost, and creeping bees 

 are disposed to crawl up the operator's legs. A little vaseline 

 rubbed over the fingers will prevent propolis adhering to them 

 and will lessen the chance of receiving stings. Bees are quieter 

 in the morning than in the afternoon or evening ; the examina- 

 tion of stocks, and most operations, should therefore, so far as 

 possible, be performed in the morning ; certain operations 

 should be performed in the late afternoon or evening ; this will 

 be mentioned when describing such operations. 



When bees in a hive are frightened, they at once gorge them- 

 selves with honey, in which condition they 



63. Controlling and find it difficult and probably painful to use 



Subduing. their stings ; hence when gorged, bees will 



only use their stings under great provoca- 

 tion. Obviously therefore, a simple method to prevent sting- 

 ing is to induce the bees to gorge, as described in the three 

 following paragraphs. 



When about to examine a hive , first take a long, strong feather 

 such as a goose quill, saturated with car- 



64. Use of Carbolic bolic soln'ion (180), and push it as far 



Feather. as possible into the hive through the door 



and under the frames, leaving it thus 



(Fig. 13) ; then take off the roof and any coverings over the 



quilt ; it will generally be most convenient to remove the lift 



