370 
BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
giving the skep to be bumped a good puff of smoke, 
it is turned up, and, being held a few inches from 
the ground, at an angle of 45® to the horizon, with 
the faces — not the ends — of the combs towards the 
operator, he rapidly pushes the whole from him, 
striking the edge of the top on the ground, so that 
the combs break from their attachments. If the combs 
are very old, the blow must be a sharp one; if tender, 
gentleness will do it. The sticks commonly run- 
ning through the skep (page 243) should be drawn 
out, with a screwing motion, by a pair of pincers, or, 
if no projection be discoverable, notched through with 
a penknife, or cut with a pair of pruning-shears, so 
as to liberate the first two combs, after which they 
will give no trouble. The combs will generally break 
away close to the top of the skep, for reasons which 
I have already explained' (page 223). Mr. Lyon says: 
“Replace the skep on its stand — upside down, of 
course — lift out the combs one at a time (a penny 
gridiron* is very convenient to put down between the 
combs to raise them on), brush the bees rapidlv off 
both sides with a wingt into the skep, put the 
combs into a pan, and cover them with a sack. As 
each skep is emptied of its combs, replace it on its 
stand right side up, resting the edge on two or three 
stones, and leave it for the bees to cluster. Do 
not forget to liberate the other bees before leaving. 
The whole operation need only take five or six 
minutes, against twenty or thirty for driving.” The de- 
tails as to packing, transporting, and hiving, have already 
* Most, like myself, would prefer the fingers, 
f The usual, but a most inconvenient, instrument. See pages 134 and 259. 
