158 FIFTY TEARS AMONG THE BEES 



If I did not do so at the time of taking out the frames, I 

 now shake the bees off from about half the frames, not being 

 particular to shake them off clean. These bees are of course 

 shaken off into the hive on the stand. The supers are now put 

 on this hive with its two or three frames of brood, the cover is 

 put over the supers, and the " ]5ut-up " hive filled with brood 

 is placed over all. 



Please understand that there is no communication whatever 

 between the lower and the upper hive, each hive having its own 

 cover and bottom-board. 



GETTING THE BEES TO DESTROY THE QUEEX-CELLS. 



A plenty of bees will be left to care for the brood, the 

 queen will commence laying, all thought of swarming is given 

 up, and every queen-cell torn down by the bees. In perhaps two 

 days I take a peep to see if the queen is laying, for it sometimes 

 happens that at the time when I '' put up the queen " (as I call 

 the operation I have just described), there is already a young 

 queen just hatched, and then the old queen is pretty sure to be 

 destroyed. In this latter ease I may remove the young queen 

 and give them a laying one, or I may let the young queen 



PUTTING DOWN THE QUEEN. 



In ten days from the time the swarm issued — sometimes 

 ten days from the time I " put up the queen " — I put down the 

 queen. If bj- chance a young queen is in the upper hive, I do 

 not like to put her down until she commences laying and her 

 wing is clipped, for fear of her taking out a swarm. It seems 

 a foolish operation for them to swarm when there is nothing in 

 the hive from which a queen can be reared, but I have had it 

 happen. The operation of putting down is very simple. I lift 

 the hive off the top, place it on the ground, remove the supers, 

 take the hive off the stand, place it on one side, put the hive 

 containing the queen on the stand, and replace the supers. 



You will see that this leaves the queen full chance to lay 

 from the minute she is uncaged, and at the time of putting 

 down there will be as much brood as if the queen had remained 



