284 A Modern Bee-Farm 



Fntroduction by Chloroform, 



puffball, &c., is sometimes recommended, but I cannot 

 advise such a course as to reduce the bees to a state of 

 stupefaction, being not only injurious but totally unneces- 

 sary. Mr. D. A. Jones, late Editor of The Canadian Bee 

 Journal, formerly a great advocate of this method, 

 discarded it in favour of my Fasting plan, which he con- 

 sidered the most satisfactory of any. 



Covering Queens with Honey. 



It is claimed by some that a queen is generally accepted 

 if first covered with honey and then placed among the 

 bees ; but the practice is one of doubtful utility ; in the 

 first place, there is no restriction as to what honey, and 

 if any desire to try the plan, I must say that no other honey 

 should be used but what is then and there taken from the 

 hive the queen is to be dropped into. An ordinary pocket 

 knife can be used to scoop out a little honey from the 

 capped cells ; or failing that, use the same syrup that is 

 being fed to the bees. The body of the bee is studded 

 with breathing tubes ; it is, therefore, evident that much 

 mischief, if not permanent injury, is caused by all being 

 clogged with honey, if only for a few minutes. 



Runnins: Queen and Bees in at the Entrance. 



Another method sometimes recommended, but long 

 since tried and discarded by myself, is this : — Shake all 

 the bees from the combs on to a board in front of the 

 hive, and as they draw back through the entrance let the 

 new queen run in with them. There is considerable risk 

 with this plan, even when all are sprayed with thin syrup, 

 scented or not, but I mention it more as a caution to the 

 novice, that he may not be led astray, particularly as he 

 would be liable to get the brood chilled before the bees 

 regained their former position among the combs. 



