FIFTY YEAES AMONG THE BEES 167 



If I did not do so at the time of taking out the frames, I 

 now shake the bees off from about half the frames, not being 

 particular to shake them off clean. These bees are of course 

 shaken off into the hive on the stand. The supers are now put 

 on this hive with its two or three frames of brood, the cover 

 is put over the supers, and the "put-up" hive filled with brood 

 is placed over all. 



Please understand that there is no communication what- 

 ever between the lower and the upper hive, each hive having 

 its own cover and bottom-board. 



GETTING THE BEES TO DESTROY THE QUEEN-CELLS. 



A plenty of bees will be left to care for the brood, the 

 queen will commence laying, all thought of swarming is given 

 up, and every queen-cell torn down by the bees. In perhaps two 

 days I take a peep to see if the queen is laying, for it some- 

 times happens that at the time when I "put up the queen" 

 (as I call the operation I have just described), there is already 

 a young queen just hatched, and then the old queen is pretty 

 sure to be destroyed. In this latter case I may remove the 

 yoimg queen and give them a laying one, or I may let the young 

 queen remain. 



PUTTING DOWN THE QUEEN. 



In ten days from the time the swarm issued — sometimes 

 ten days from the time I "put up the queen" — I put down the 

 queen. If by any chance a young queen is in the upper hive, I 

 do not like to put her down until she commences laying and her 

 wing is clipped, for fear of her taking out a swarm. It seems 

 a foolish operation for them to swarm when there is nothing in 

 the hive from which a queen can be reared, but I have had it 

 happen. The operation of putting down is very simple. I lift 

 the hive off the top, place it on the ground, remove the supers, 

 take the hive off the stand, place it on one side, put the hive 

 containing the queen on the stand, and replace the supers. 



You wiU see that this leaves the queen full chance to lay 

 from the minute she is uncaged, and at the time of putting 

 (iown there will be as much brood as if the queen had remained 

 ip her usual place. Most of the bees, of course, adhered to 



