92 BEEKEEPING 



the individuals of the separate hives, it 

 may be well to interpose a thin sheet of 

 paper between the two. A small hole can 

 be made in this and the bees will gradually 

 mingle without going to law over the line 

 fence. 



At this second examination, too, the 

 wings of the queen should be clipped — if 

 this little operation has not previously 

 been attended to. Clipping the wings of 

 the queen may sound like a fearsome job 

 to the novice. I know of one novice who 

 was quite terrified when he first at- 

 tempted it, but he quickly learned that 

 it was not so dangerous or so difficult 

 as it sounded. In fact the only 

 danger is to the poor queen herself for 

 she will not sting even if handled 

 quite roughly. The beginner is quite 

 likely to crush her in his clumsy fingers 

 when he tries to pick her from a brood 

 frame and to prevent any such misfor- 

 tune I suggest that he practise picking up 

 drones and clipping the wings on one side 



