HARVESTING. 437 
cover, and the hive should be closed and its entrance re- 
duced, as promptly as possible. In this way, there is not 
the least danger of robbing; but if robbing is once begun, 
by some carelessness or forgetfulness of the operator, the 
work has to be stopped until it has.subsided. A basin of 
water and a towel, placed near at hand, are found to be very 
convenient, when the hives are very full; as the operator 
and his help sometimes get their fingers sticky with honey. 
767. The utensils needed for neat extracting on a large 
scale are: In the Apiary, — a good smoker (382), one or 
two brushes made of asparagus tops, or some other light 
fibrous material, a wood chisel to loosen the cases, two tin 
pans, described farther on (770), one comb bucket, and 
two strong linen or cotton ‘‘ robber cloths,’’ which can be 
carbolized beforehand by the Raynor process (384). 
768. The ‘‘robber cloths’’, so named by Dr. C. C. 
Miller, are used to cover the cases to keep away robbers. 
They are made of very coarse cloth or gunny, about a yard 
square. 
“Take two pieces of lath, each about as long as the hive, and 
lay one upon the other, with one edge of the cloth between 
them. The cloth is longer than the lath, allowing 6 inches or 
more of the cloth to project at each end of the lath. Now nail 
the laths together with 14 inch wire nails, clinching them. 
Serve the opposite end the same way, and the robber cloth 
is complete. You can take hold of the lath with one hand, lift 
the cloth from a hive or super, and with a quick throw, instantly 
cover up again your hive or super perfectly bee tight.” (“A 
Year Among the Bees,’’ 1886.) 
The operator opens a hive, removes the super, 
places it in'a tin pan (770), and covers it with a robber 
cloth. He then examines the brood chamber, from which 
one or two combs may be removed if advisable. We usually 
leave all the honey in the lower story, unless the bees are 
crowded out of breeding room, which will not happen, if 
they have plenty of room above. 
