250 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
may be performed in the open ; but generally a 
building is necessary to avoid the annoyance of 
robbers. Chilly weather is unfit, because the brood 
is likely to suffer, while repair is carried on tardily ; 
but experience will enable the operator to undertake 
the work at almost any time. I have transferred as 
early as the ist of March, and as late as the middle 
of November; but it is well to remember that very 
hot weather makes the combs so soft that they sink 
out of form, the lower cells being flattened by the 
weight of those above them. Four or five days after 
transferring, it is desirable to clean the bottom board, 
as a considerable amount of debris is thrown down 
in the process of repairing and refitting. . Some 
would transfer without driving, simply clearing the 
bees by smoke from the comb to be excised, and 
then brushing down those removed with each comb 
in front of the new hive. Except with very weak 
populations, the majority would find ordinary driving 
less troublesome. 
We must here note that Mr. Heddon claims a 
method of transferring, which he denominates ‘‘ modern,” 
as distinguished from the “old” plan just detailed. 
Mr. Heddon may have been the first to suggest the 
“modern” method in America, but it is certain that 
a substantially identical one was practised in Eng- 
land several years before he made mention of it. I 
find, by example, that I recommended it twelve 
years since, suggesting that the bees be placed on 
sheets made as explained on page i8i. It is so 
simple and obvious that none could secure through 
it a reputation for inventiveness. The skep is re- 
