130 i'UE PE.\CTICAL BEE GUIDE. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

 HIVING: UNITING: AND TRANSFERRING BEES. 



231. Confidence in Protection from Stings It has already 



been stated that bees, when swarming, are most peaceable, 

 and that at other times they may be " subdued to settled quiet " 

 so as to be comparatively harmless (167). But, for the reasons 

 mentioned (169), the beginner will do well to wear a veil and 

 gloves when preparing to hive a swarm ; for, until he gains 

 the confidence which follows experience, the confidence arising 

 from the feeling of being, for the occasion, protected from 

 stings, will assist him to carry through the work in hands in 

 a business-like way. 



232. Preparing the Hive Some days before a swarm is 



expected, a hive should be prepared to receive it. If the hive 

 has been used before, it should have any necessary repairs, 

 and two coats of good paint. The inside, and the dummies, 

 should be scalded, and washed with a solution of i oz. Calvert's 

 No. 5 Carbolic Acid to 2 oz. water, and the parts should be 

 set out iii the air so that the smell of the carbolic may disappear 

 before the hive may be required, for, any unpleasantness in 

 their new home might cause the bees to forsake it (215). The 

 hive, with eight or nine frames of comb, or of wired founda- 

 tion, should then be set up in the position which it is to occupy 

 in the apiary, carefully levelled, as previously directed (147), 

 and with the sheet and quilts upon the frames. The sheet, if 

 new, should be soaked in water, and put, while still damp, 

 upon the frames ; it will then lie perfectly flat, and will continue 

 to do so when dry. 



233. Hiving Swarms Direct When a swarm issues, no time 



should be lost in securing it. If a garden syringe is at hand, 

 spray some water over the bees, and when they cluster, give 

 them some more water to cool them, and to cause them to 

 cluster more closely. If they cluster upon a low branch, 

 or shrub, bring the prepared hive as close as possible to 

 the cluster: place a hiving board sloping up to the alighting 

 board of the hive, and raised at the other end so that it may 

 be nearly, but not quite level : cover the hiving board with a 

 white cloth arranged to lie smoothly right up to the hive 

 entrance, and kept in position by stonos at the corners : draw 



