298 THE APIART. 



upside down on the ground, scarcel\- a bee will fly out, and 

 there will be little danger of being stung. The timid and 

 inexperienced should protect themselves with a bee-veil, 

 and maj' blow more smoke among them, as soon as the hive 

 is inverted. After placing it on the ground, the forcing-box 

 must be put over it. If smooth inside, it should have slats 

 fastened one-third of the distance from the top, to aid bees 

 in clustering. Some Apiarists place the box slanting on the 

 hive, so as to be able to see the bees climbing. This 

 method, called open driving, is a little slower, but it may 

 give the operator the chance of seeing the queen ; when the 

 driving can be considered as done. 



576. As soon as the Apiarist has confined the bees, he 

 should place an empty hive — which we call the decoy-hive 

 — upon their old stand, which those returning from the 

 fields may enter, instead of dispersing to other hives, to 

 meet, perhaps, with a most ungracious reception. As a 

 general rule, however, a bee with a load of honey or bee- 

 bread, after the extent of her resources is ascertained, is 

 pretty sure to be welcomed by any hive to which she may 

 carry her treasure ; while a poverty-stricken unfortunate 

 that presumes to claim their hospitality is, usually, at once 

 destroyed. The one meets with as flattering a reception as 

 a wealth}- gentleman proposing to take up his abode in a 

 country village, while the other is as much an object of dis- 

 like as a poor man, who bids fair to become a public charge. 



If there are in the Apiary several old colonies standing 

 close together, it is desirable, in performing this operation, 

 that the decoy-hive, and the forcing-box, should be of the 

 same shape and even color with that of the parent-stock. If 

 they are very unlike, and the returning bees attempt to 

 enter a neighboring hive, because it resembles their old 

 home, the adjoining hives should have sheets thrown over 

 them, to hide them from the bees, until the operation is 

 completed. 



