32 



should be examined on the eighth day after hiving to ascertain 

 if another frame is required. For instructions as to inserting a 

 frame, see "Brood-spreading " (90). If after hiving a swarm 

 the VFeather is unfavourable for gathering honey, it may be 

 necessary to feed the bees (103) ; after brood-spreading, it will 

 be necessary to attend to ^upering (108). 



As already stated, it will sometimes occur that owing to 

 threatening r-ain, limited daylight, or other 



80. Hiving a Swarm circumstances, it is desirable that hiving 

 by Casting Bees should be performed rapidly ; in such cases 



into Brood-chamber, prepare the hive for receiving a swarm (75) , 

 remove the roof but not the lift, damp the 

 top of the shoulders of the frames and dummy and the channel 

 beneath them with carbolic solution (180), draw the dummy 

 to the back of the !body-box and spread the frames, leaving the 

 centre frames about two inches apart. Next, if necessary, 

 sprinkle the bees with water (76), then while firmly holding 

 the skep or swarm-box with the open side up, shake it so as to 

 detach the bees from the sides, and then rapidly reversing it, 

 throw the bees down so that they may fall between the frames 

 into the body-box. Then leaving the fr-ames spread out, cover 

 them at once with the quilt and replace the roof. The bees 

 will rapidly go down amongst the frames, after which the 

 dummy and frames should be pressed to the front and covered. 

 Next morning examine the hive and remove any frame the 

 foundation of which has fallen, replacing it by .a new frame 

 of foundation (90) ; afterwards treat the stock as already de- 

 scribed in the case of a swarm hived through the entrance (76) . 



VIII.— DEIVING. 



Driving is practised to remove bees from skeps or boxes having 



fixed combs, either for the purpose of trans- 



81. Driving ferring the bees to a bar-frame hive, or in 



Appliances. order to make an artificial swarm ; if the 



bees are in a skep, have in readiness a 



chair, an empty skep to receive the driven bees, two driving-irons 



and a skewer, a subduing-cloth (43), a feather dipped in carbolic 



solution; and if the stock is in a round-topped skep, a bucket 



or large pot of such size that the skep when inverted may rest 



in it with at least half the skep exposed above the rim of the 



bucket or pot. Driving irons (Fig. 28) are made of No. 4 wire 



or light iron , about 12 inches long and with IJ inches at each 



end turned at right angles and pointed. 



Driving should be performed in the forenoon, as bees move 



more sluggishly in the afternoon. It will 



82. Open Driving be assumed that the stock to be driven is in 



from a Skep. a skep. First spread a carbolic cloth (43) 



flat under the skep, then lower the skep 



down on the cloth , placing a small stone or bit of wood under 



the front rim so as to keep that rim about one inch above the 



