A YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 
55 
When the white-clover harvest fails, I take off all supers. 
I have, however, some years, left on some during cucumber 
bloom. Sections finished at this time have an unpleasant 
appearance, as if thinly varnished with bee-glue. 
GETTING BEES OUT OF SECTIONS. 
When taking off supers, they are smoked over the surface, 
a little while before removing. This, together with the light, 
I think, drives down the youngestof the bees— such as would 
not be able to find their way back to their hives if taken 
away. If two or more hives are opened at the same time, 
they have the more time to get down out of the super. 
Whilst the honey-flow is abundant, I need take no pains for 
fear of robber bees. After the youngest of the bees have 
gone down out of the super, all I have to do is to set the 
super beside the hive, or in any other convenient place , and 
in from one to three hours every bee will have left it. 
Sometimes I prefer to get all or nearly all the bees out of 
the super before leaving it. In this case I set the super on 
end on top of the hive, and give it a thorough smoking. 
This drives all to the side opposite the smoker, and I brush 
them off while continuing the smoke. 
Nothing that I have ever used for brushing bees has suited 
me so well as the Davis’ improved bee-brush— a 15-cent tool 
made of wire and sea-grass, or some such material. If it gets 
stuck up with honey, so as to be stiff, it is easily washed out 
again. 
When there is any danger of robber bees— and there is 
always danger when honey is not coming in freely the 
supers are taken directly into the store-room of the shop, 
and stood on end on the floor, with plenty of room between 
them. The bees will at their leisure come out of these 
supers and fly to the light. The room is darkened, all but 
one place. This is a hole, cut in the south wall something 
more than a foot square. On the outside, at each side of 
this hole is nailed a piece of lath some 6 inches longer than 
the height of the hole, so that the pieces of lath run up some 
