68 PROFITABLE BEE-KEEPING 



drawn over the frames as the bottom quilt is 

 peeled off. In a minute or so remove it, only 

 using it further when the bees show signs of in- 

 subordination. 



When the spring examination is made, and it 

 should be made on a warm day towards the end 

 of April, a clean hive must be given to each colony, 

 afterwards scraping out the old hives and wash- 

 ing with strong soda and water applied very hot. 



In examining straw skeps, the combs being 

 fixed, their removal is out of the question. All 

 that can be done is to blow a little smoke in at 

 the entrance and then invert the skep. The combs 

 may be prised apart with the fingers, when the 

 presence of worker brood will indicate that the 

 skep contains a fertile queen. Nothing further 

 however, can be done as regards examination, and 

 often the weight is no very correct guide to the 

 amount of stores contained, as pollen-clogged 

 combs may account for much of it. 



In manipulating bees it will be seen that their 

 temper varies a great deal. They are much 

 quieter at some times of the year than they are 

 at others, and they are easier to handle on warm 

 days than they are on cool ones. It is unwise to 

 examine them late in the evening, and the best 

 time of all is in the middle of a warm day, when 

 honey is coming in. It will be found also that 

 they are especially irritable at the close of a 

 honey flow, say at the end of July and August, 

 when great care is needed in handling them. 



