15 
combs are usually fastened to the eke only to a slight extent, 
and it is frequently not difficult to lift the straw skep off the 
eke without breaking any of the combs. In other cases it 
may be advisable to keep the eke attached to the skep. A 
top may also be left in position, or it may be more convenient 
to remove it temporarily. 
With an old skep filled with combs, toughened by the 
cocoons of several generations of larva, there is little danger 
of combs breaking, especially in skeps furnished with cross- 
sticks, but a skep filled with new combs pretty well filled 
with honey, even when these are built round sticks, must be 
handled with very great care. The danger of disaster is 
greatly increased if the skep be held with the combs 
horizontal. 
While the skep is being examined the field bees will have 
returned in large numbers, and will be crawling over the 
board. These should be jerked off by striking the edge of 
the board against the ground. The board is then scraped 
clean, the skep replaced on it, and the whole placed back 
on the old stance. 
Other Methods of Subduing Bees, 
Bee-keepers who are smokers frequently use tobacco and 
a pipe instead of a special bee-smoker, and it must be 
admitted that tobacco smoke is very effectual in creating 
panic among bees. But one cannot wear a veil while 
smoking, and the result is that too much smoke is frequently 
used. 
More generally useful than the pipe is the subduing cloth, 
frequently used alone or in conjunction with a smoker. It 
consists of a cloth large enough to cover the tops of the 
frames and sprinkled with some strong-smelling chemical 
diluted with water. Carbolic acid is frequently used, but has 
the disadvantage that it is not soluble in water. Jeyes’ Fluid, 
being non-corrosive and readily mixible with water, has been 
used with success. It is frequently convenient to use two 
cloths, unrolling the one and rolling up the other, so that only 
one or two combs are uncovered at one time. Dnring the 
