44 
BEE-OULTURE. 
being filled with honey need not be touched. If the bees are 
too numerous to admit of getting the eombs out whilst they 
are in when the hive is inverted, set an empty one on it and 
tie a sheet around where the hives meet, if you are afraid 
they will get out and sting you (although there is less 
danger of being stung now than there is at other seasons of 
the year); with a light hammer rap on the hive and the 
bees will all in a few minutes enter the upper hive. Now 
set the hive with the bees on the usual stand, and proceed 
to get out the old combs. The bees may then be run 
back into their hives as in hiving a swarm, or invert the hive 
containing the bees and set the one they had been in on top 
of it, and leave them standing thus until the next morning ; 
against this time the bees will have all gone into the upper 
hive. 
REMOVING DRONE COMBS. 
It is often advisable to break out a portion of the drone 
combs when a colony produces too many drones. From a 
great many of my hives all the drone combs have been re- 
moved. It is poor economy to have a colony rearing a great 
horde of drones to eat honey, instead of workers to make it, 
since half a dozen hives may raise enough for a whole neigh- 
borhood; and we know of no use for them except as a male 
bee, except it would be a few in each hive for the sake of 
company. When drone combs are broken out they frequent- 
ly build the same kind in their place. If a movable comb 
hive be used, when such a comb is taken out a piece of empty 
worker comb may be fitted in its stead. In this way a hive 
can forever after be prevented from rearing drones, as they 
will have no cells suitable for rearing them in. Small or me- 
dium sized hives have much less drone combs than large 
ones. 
TOOLS FOR CUTTING COMBS. 
Two tools for cutting combs can be made by any blacksmith 
They are convenient for cutting combs out of hives or honey 
out of honey boxes. To make a tool for cutting down the 
sides of the hive, take a three-eighths inch rod of steel, two 
feet long ; bend about two inches of the end of this at right 
angles, making a thin blade, both edges sharp, the side to go 
