BEE-KEEPING IN WAR-TIME 25 



of smoke in at the entrance, say about half a dozen ; too 

 much is injurious and will stupefy the bees, the very thing 

 which must be avoided. Wait for about a minute to give 

 the bees time to fill themselves with food, then quietly take 

 oft the roof and lift, turn back the corner of the quilt and 

 blow a few puffs of smoke along the tops of the frames to drive 

 the bees down. If a carbolic cloth is being used, take ofi 

 the roof, turn back the quilts, letting the cloth follow them 

 and take their place, remove it and replace the quilts for about 

 a minute. Commence on one of the outside combs, lifting it 

 up by means of the lugs at either end, examine one side, then 

 reverse it to examine the other side ; this must be done care- 

 fully and methodically, it must not be turned fiat, but reversed 

 in such a manner that it is kept edgewise the whole of the 

 time. If turned flat in hot weather, the comb being soft is 

 liable to break away from the frame. The same precautions 

 must be observed in returning it to its original position. The 

 comb can now be reared up against the outside of the hive 

 to provide room to manipulate the others. Only the comb 

 actually to be removed from the hive should be uncovered 

 at one time ; as they are put back they must be covered with 

 a second quilt, i.e. one quilt follows up the other. 



Never stand in front of the hive to manipulate or the 

 outcoming bees, resenting the hindrance, will sting. Don't 

 kill a single bee by crushing, through careless or rough 

 treatment of the combs ; if this is done the smell of the formic 

 acid from the damaged poison sac will irritate the other bees 

 and cause them to sting when otherwise they would not 

 do so. 



VI 



OBTAOnNG HEATHER HONEY 



Heather honey is obtained mainly in Scotland and Wales, 

 but a fair amount is also gathered in the north of England. 

 The honey is of a dark amber colour, gelatinous in consis- 

 tency, very pungent in odour, and bitter-sweet to the taste. 

 The honey is not much favoured by people living in the 

 south, but is highly prized by northerners. The harvest is 

 gathered in the latter part of August and the beginning of 

 September. Owing to unsuitable weather for the bees to 

 work frequently prevailing at that period, the crop is a very 

 precarious one. The honey sells for just double that obtained 



