262 BEE MANIPULATION. [Ch. v. 



bred in them correspondingly reduced in size. After the 

 lapse of, say, five years it may be necessary to begin 

 removing the old combs. This may be done by cutting 

 away the combs, or by substituting an empty frame for 

 one with old black comb, gradually moving the frames 

 towards each other. By taking two away in this manner 

 in the spring or summer of every season, the combs in 

 course of five years may all be reconstructed, and fresh 

 clean ones be secured for breeding in, instead of the old 

 black ones that otherwise would remain as long as the 

 stock could live in the hive. 



Guide-combs can also be used with glasses. These , 

 may be filled, with great regularity, by adopting the fol- 

 lowing directions, which, we believe, have never before 

 appeared in print : — 



Procure a piece of clean, new, empty, worker honey- 

 comb, which has not had honey in it (because honey 

 will prevent adhesion to the glass) ; cut it into pieces of 

 about three-quarters of an inch square. Gently warm 

 the exterior of the glass (this we find is best done by 

 holding the glass horizontally for a short time over the 

 flame of a candle) ; then apply one of the pieces of 

 empty comb inside at the part warmed, taking care, in 

 fixing it, that the pitch or inclination of the cells is 

 upwards — in fact, place the guide-comb in the same 

 relative position that it occupied in the hive or glass 

 from which it was taken. There is some danger of 

 making the glass too warm, which will cause the wax 



