STOCKING THE APIARY. 281 
If the bees are not all at home when the hive is to be 
removed, blow a little smoke into its entrance, to cause 
those within to fill themselves with honey, and to prevent 
them from leaving for the fields. Repeat this process 
from time to time, and in about half an hour all will 
have returned. If any are clustered on the outside, they 
may be driven within by smoke. 
The common hives may be prepared for removal by 
inverting them and tacking a coarse towel over them, or 
strips of lath may be laid over wire-cloth, and brads driven 
through them into the edges of the hive. 
Confine the hive, so that it cannot be jolted, to a bed 
of straw in a wagon with springs, and be sure, before 
starting, that it is impossible for a bee to get out. The 
inverted position of the hive will give the bees what air 
they need, and guard their combs from being loosened. 
It will be next to impossible, in warm weather, to move a 
hive which contains much new comb. 
New swarms may be brought home in any old box 
which has ample ventilation. A tea-chest, with wire- 
cloth on the top, sides, and bottom-board, will be found 
very convenient. The bees may be shut up in this box as 
soon as they are hived. New swarms require even more 
air than old stocks , being full of honey, and closely clus- 
tered together. They should be set in a cool place, and, 
if the weather is very sultry, should not be removed until 
night. Many swarms are suffocated by the neglect of these 
precautions. The bees may be easily shaken out from 
this temporary hive (p. 139 ). 
When movable-comb hives are sent away to receive a 
swarm, two strips of wood, with small pieces nailed to them 
to go between the frames and keep them apart, should be 
laid over the frames. The cover, or honey-board, should 
then be screwed fast, and, if the strips are of proper 
