74 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



liquid will not run off on the ground and waste, in which 

 condition they will be strongly dosed with saltpeter. 



A plentiful supply of dry smoker-fuel, with a cor- 

 responding stock of saltpeter-rags, is a great saving of 

 the "disposition." 



POUNDING BEES OFF COIIBS. 



Mention was made of getting bees ofif combs. Some- 

 times shaking is used altogether, sometimes brushing, 

 and sometimes both. The weight of the comb has some- 

 thing to do with the munner? of -shakftig. The most of 

 the shaking — in fact all of the shaking, unles.s the combs 

 be very heavy — is done as shown in Fig. 2''). Perhaps 

 it might better be called pounding bees off the comb. 

 The comb is held by the corner with one hand, while 

 the other hand pounds sharply on the hand that holds the 

 comb. By this manner of pounding I can get almost 

 every bee off a comb with a few strokes, unless the comb 

 be too heavy. 



doolittle's plan of shaking. 



With a very heavy comb, G. M. Doolittle's olan is 

 better, and is the one used. Let the ends of the top-bar 

 be supported by the first two fingers of eacl^ hand, the 

 thumbs some distance above. Keeping the thumb and 

 fingers well apart, let the frame drop, and as it drops 

 strike it hard with the balls of the thumbs, then catch 

 it with the fingers, raise it and repeat the operation. The 

 bees are jarred both up and "down, and don't know which 

 wav to brace themselves to hold on, so a very few shakes 

 will get most of them off. 



bee-brushes., 



Sometimes it is not desirable to get all the bees off, 

 in which case, or with very light combs, no brushing is 



