DRIVING 9^ 



and a few minutes' wait, turn the hive bottom upwards. 

 The bees will be found clustered in the crown of the 

 hive and scarcely a single bee will fly out. To make 

 security doubly secure, a little of the warm syrup may 

 be poured over the combs, and the hive replaced upon 

 its stand for a minute or two longer, to give the bees time 

 to lick up the syrup. Then again overturn the hive and 

 at once carry some little distance away from its fellows ; 

 place it on the ground or anywhere handy, still bottom 

 upwards, and with a couple of the skewers fasten one 

 of the spare skeps in such a manner as to form a dome 

 over the upturned hive. The skewers should be inserted 

 from either side of the hive, but only an inch or two 

 apart, so as to form an extemporised hinge. Next take 

 the driving irons, one in each hand, and insert the lower 

 point of each into the sides of the bottom hive, then raise 

 the upper hive on its hinge until it forms an angle of 

 about forty-five degrees, and secure it in this position by 

 squeezing in the upper points of the driving irons. 

 These operations should be carried out as expeditiously 

 as possible, and the novice should practise on two empty 

 skeps previous to driving. 



One most important point is that the combs should run 

 from front to back, i.e. the combs should be at right 

 angles to the two skewers forming the hinge, in the 

 manner shown in the illustration. 



With your back to the strongest light, commence to 

 beat on the sides of the hive with both hands, smartly 

 and firmly, in such a manner as to jar the combs, but 

 not sufficiently strongly as to run any risk of breaking 

 them away from their fastenings. The blows should 

 be rhythmical, both hands striking the hive at the same 

 time, and the intervals should be about the same as 

 between the footfalls of an ordinary walker. Very 

 quickly the bees will begin to roar, and will move in 

 a procession from the lower to the upper empty hive. 



