HIVES. 



now Strike the lower hive with a hammer or sticky 

 lightly and rapidly, five or ten minutes, when nearly 

 all the bees will be in the upper hivei, and set that on 

 the stand ; only a few bees will be in the way ; these 

 I will warrant not to sting, unless you pinch or get 

 them fast. Should diseased broody or anything make 

 it necessary to transfer all the bees permanently, you 

 can now set over another hive or box, and beat the 

 lower hive again, when another portion will ascend ; 

 jar these out in front of the first, and they will imme- 

 diately enter; continue the process till all are out. 

 But for pruning a few bees will not be much in the 

 way, and you may proceed as follows: 



q 



TOOLS FOR ' CUTTING OUT COMB. 



The broad one is very readily made from a piece of an old 

 scythe, about twenty inches long, by any blacksmith, by simply 

 taking off the back, and forming a shank for a handle at the heel; 

 the end should be ground like a carpenter's chisel. This is for 

 cutting down the sides of the hive ; the bevel will keep it close 

 the whole length, when you wish to remove all the combs — it 

 being square instead of rounded, no difficulty will be found in 

 guiding it — it is not thick enough to mash any combs by crowd- 

 ing them. The other tool is for cutting off combs at the top or 

 any other place. It is merely a rod ol steel three-eighths of an 

 inch diameter, about two feet long, vrith a thin blade at right 

 angles, one and a half inches long, and a quarter inch wide, both 

 edges sharp, upper side bevelled, bottom flat, &c. Tou will find 

 these tools very convenient; be sure and get them by all means; 

 the cost cannot be compared to the advantage. 



With the tools just described, you can now re* 



