AUTUMN MANAGEMENT. 203 - 
the spatula or spade form. Different makers supply 
several variations. For the purpose of uncapping 
the cells previous to insertion in the ‘ extractor,” 
a knife made by Messrs. Bingham and Hetherington 
is strongly recommended by Mr. Cowan. 
Robbers. —Should an attack upon a hive from 
strange bees take place, which sometimes occurs at 
this season (the strong robbing the weak), no time 
ought to be lost in narrowing the entrance, for if 
the practice were allowed to continue a day or two, 
the ruin of the family might soon ensue. Indeed, it is 
always well gradually to make this contraction as 
the working season draws to a close. An assault from 
robber bees is often a much more formidable evil than 
one from wasps, although it is said that one of the latter 
is a match for three bees. Unless the colony is very 
weak, wasps are usually soon expelled, if the method 
pointed out at page 188 is resorted to. Not so with 
bees, for if but one or two strangers gain admittance 
into a hive, they will return again and again, always 
with an accession of force; and for a day or two it 
is often necessary entirely to close the entrance against 
them, opening it only at night. In such case the 
robber bees will sometimes collect in vast numbers 
at the mouth of the hive, when a shower from a 
watering-pot will send them away to dry themselves. 
The thieves are generally distinguishable, and they 
are often cunning enough to resort to their ma- 
rauding practices early in the morning and late at 
night. A supply of syrup given on the top, or even 
sprinkled among the combs of contending hives, will 
often divert the attention of the combatants; or smoke 
