24 
shoulders have been fixed by propolis, it will be difficult to remove 
them with the hands without jarring them: in such cases it is 
a good plan to press the frame gently back by a lever applied 
between the frames close to the shoulder. If, when holding a 
frame, or during any other operation, bees creep on to the hands, 
do not roughly disturb them. When holding frames, keep them 
as much as is possible over the body-box, so that the queen or 
any bees when falling may drop into it. When it is desired to 
remove bees from a frame of comb, this can be done by giving 
the frame a sharp jerk downwards while holding it over the brood 
chamber, provided that the comb is fairly tough and rigid, such 
as comb which has contained brood ; if, however, the comb in 
the frame is new and soft, or if it contains much thin unripe 
honey, as would frequently be the case during the honey flow 
period, the bees should be brushed off the frames with a wing 
or feather; soft comb, especially if it is carrying honey, would 
easily be broken or damaged by a jerk, and it would not be pos- 
sible to jerk the bees off a comb carrying thin unripe honey, 
without slinging honey over, into, and about the hive, thereby 
doing much harm in many ways. A little vaseline rubbed over 
the fingers wiil prevent propolis adhering to them, and will lessen 
the chance of receiving stings. Bees are quieter in the morning 
than in the afternoon or evening; the examination of stocks, 
and most operations, should therefore, so far as possible, be 
performed in the morning; certain operations should be per- 
formed in the late afternoon or evening ; this will be mentioned 
when describing such operations. 
When bees in a hive are frightened, they at once gorge them- 
selves with honey, in which condition they 
63. Controlling and find it difficult and probably painful to use 
Subduing. their stings; hence when gorged, bees will 
only use their stings under great provoca- 
tion. Obviously, therefore, a simple method to prevent stinging 
is to induce the bees to gorge, which can be done by the methods 
described in the three following paragraphs. 
When about to examine a hive, first take one or two long, strong 
feathers such as goose quills, saturated with 
64. Use of Subduing subduing solution (180), and push them 
Feather. as far as possible into the hive through the 
door and under the frames, leaving them 
thus (Fig. 18); then take off the roof and any coverings over 
the quilt; it will generally be most convenient to remove the 
lift aiso; then with a feather smear the frame shoulders with 
subduing solution ; this tends to prevent the bees running out 
on the shoulders of the frame while it is held by the operator. 
Having inserted the subduing feathers, damp the subduing cloth 
..._ (48) with subduing solution (180), insert the 
65. Use of Subduing stick, and then while holding the stick in 
Cloth, one hand, with the other take hold of the 
side edge of the quilt and gently peel it off, and as the upturned 
