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 iiand, 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 clotJis," which can be 

 carbohzed beforehand by the Eaynor 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 tlie 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 IJ inch wire nails, clinching them. 

 Serve the opposite end the same way, and the rohher 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.) 



769. 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. 



