DRIVING AND SHAKING BEES. 179 



CHAPTEE XXXVI. 



ON DEIVING AND SHAKING BEES PROM HIVES AND 

 UNITING THEM TO OTHER SWARMS. 



Though often touclied on before in other chapters of this 

 work, these matters deserve separate and distinct treat- 

 ment. 



Given a hive full of combs and hees, and an empty one 

 into which the bees are to be driven. After the full hive 

 has got a few puffs of smoke, it is turned upside down, 

 the empty one placed on it, mouth to mouth, and a table- 

 cloth is tied round the junction of the two hives to pre- 

 vent the escape of a single bee. The drumming or driv- 

 ing now commences, simply by beating the bottom hive 

 with open hands. This beating confounds the bees and 

 makes them run upwards. In running up into the empty 

 hive the bees make a great noise as in swarming, and this 

 noise facilitates the work in hand. In hot weather all 

 the bees, or almost all, may be thus driven out of a large 

 hive in twenty minutes. The drumming should be con- 

 tinued the whole time, for if the bees have time given them 

 to think, they will cease running up, the noise will abate, 

 and those that are below will cleave to the brood-combs 

 to keep them warm. In driving bees the work should 

 be done quickly, allowing no time for play or palaver. 



In cold weather this work is more difficult to accom- 

 plish, the bees then being more disinclined to leave their 



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