136 How fo re-inforce Bee-hives. 
Every motion muft be made deliberately, and 
without hurry. The operator may take a glafs 
-of good ale, and rub fome of it over his face 
and hands; but during the whole operation he 
muft be particularly careful not to bruife any 
of the bees., es 
In uniting and re-inforcing bees,* upon the 
very 
* To rz-1nForcE a hive, fignifies to take part of the bees out 
of a ftrong hive, and put them into a weak or deficient one, in or- 
der to ftrengthen it, and make it a thriving hive. But one thing 
ta be obferved here, is, that no bees muft ever be taken from a 
ffock hive to re-inforce another with, unlefs in fummer, when the 
hive is fo full of bees as to lay out, or nearly fo ; for no good hive 
ought at any time to be hurt to enrich a weak one. It is often — 
avery neceflary and ufeful operation, when a hive has few bees 
in fummer, by re-inforcing her from a more numerous hive 
that can eafily {pare them, the weak hive will foon became ftrong. 
Or fhould a;misfortune befal a hive at any feafon of the year, the 
bees of the unfortunate hive fhould be put into another hive ; and 
in September, all the bees belonging to the hives which are taken, 
fhould be put into the flock hives, whereby they will preferve heat 
through. the winter, and be able to accelerate their labours i in 
the {pring. i 
In all cafes whatfoever, where it is neceflary to remove the 
bees out of one hive into another, the new hive muit be placed 
inthe fame {pot where the old hive ftood, to prevent the bees from | 
miftaking it. But when a hive is re-inforced by an additional 
number of bees, if thefe bees are taken from three or four diffe- 
rent hives, fituated in as many different places, the re-inforced 
hive fhould be removed about a mile diftant from all of them, to 
prevent the new inhabitants trom returning to their original hives 
j again 3° 
