BOXIlirG AKD SURPLUS HONEY. 175 



be likely to finisli them. Many bee-keepers meet this 

 emergency by feeding extracted honey of good quality 

 very freely, thus stimulating the bees to renewed exer- 

 tion. Directions on this point will be found in the Chap- 

 ter on Feeding. 



One of the prime essentials in boxing is ease of access 

 from the body of the hive. It is true, that when boxes 

 are very accessible, the queen will at times enter them, 

 and deposit eggs therein, yet the advantages of this prox- 

 imity are so great that this objection is more than coun- 

 terbalanced. Where but few brood-cells appear, they may 

 be removed, but if nearly filled with brood, the boxes 

 should be placed where the bees may hatch and enter the 

 hive. The honey-board as mentioned in connection with 

 the use of two-comb boxes should not be more than '■ / ^ 

 in. thick. One reason why so little box-honey can be 

 secured from box-hives, lies in the fact that the bees must 

 pass through holes in the top of the hive, which is gen- 

 erally an inch thick. 



KBMOVING BOXES. 



All boxes should be promptly removed as soon as full. 

 Thus the boxes will not be soiled, and the delicate white- 

 ness of the combs will be unsullied by the frequent pass- 

 ing of the bees over them. I prefer to perform the oper- 

 ation in the middle of the day, for they then contain the 

 fewest bees, but it may be done at any time. Place the 

 box near the entrance of the hive, and tap it gently a few 

 times, when the bees will usually all leave it. If any 

 bees are indisposed to leave, and there are large numbers 

 of boxes to be cared for, they may be arranged in a pile, 

 so that all bees can escape, in a closed room, and a C3,ged 

 queen placed in a nucleus box among them,, when they 

 will all gather with the queen. In bringing home large 

 quantities of box-honey frorn apiaries away froni home, I 

 have of ted in. this manner' preserved' bees that lack of 



