844 
TRANSFERRING 
brood should be excluded. The remaining 
space on either side is then filled with foun¬ 
dation—preferably full sheets. 
Elton Warner of North and South Caro¬ 
lina, instead of placing the log gum up- 
Mr. Warner smoking and drumming bees from a 
box' hive into a modern hive. 
side down, lays it on its side with the bot¬ 
tom facing the entrance of the modem hive. 
He now blows smoke into and drums on 
the old gum until the bees run out of it into 
the new hive, as shown. C. L. Sams, who 
has probably had a larger experience than 
any other person, says that, while this plan 
will work, it is much slower, and that the 
bees, instead of going into the hive, will 
cluster all around the space between the old 
gum and the new hive. Moreover, he says 
that bees during the drumming process will 
crawl upward more readily than on a hori¬ 
zontal plane. 
TRANSFERRING WITHOUT USING THE OLD 
COMBS. 
Another plan that is somewhat slower, 
but which avoids the cutting of combs of 
brood or honey, is as follows: 
A modern hive is prepared containing 
nine frames of foundation and a frame of 
brood from some other colony. This is 
placed on the stand now occupied by the 
old hive or gum. On top of the new hive 
is then placed a bee-escape board with the 
escape feeding downward. The gum, after 
the smoke is blown in at the entrance, is 
turned upside down, after which five or six 
inches of the comb is removed. A separate 
cover or flat board is then placed on top. 
Drumming is then applied to the sides of 
the gum until about half the bees and the 
queen cluster on the super cover in the man¬ 
ner before explained. The bees and queen 
are then dumped in front of the entrance 
of the new hive. If the queen is not seen 
running in, it will be necessary to drum 
until she is found. The old gum with 
its remaining bees is then placed on the 
new hive with all openings between the 
new hive and the gum closed except thru 
the escape, as shown. The young bees, 
as they emerge with the other bees, will 
gradually work down thru the bee-escape 
into the new hive. At the end of three 
weeks there will be no bees upstairs, and 
nothing but old comb. The old gum is then 
removed, and its contents cut out and melt¬ 
ed up into wax. 
The merit of this plan is that it avoids 
cutting out the combs and fitting them into 
frames, avoids daubing honey on tools and 
appliances and avoids robbing. The 
average brood-combs in the box hive are 
usually very poor, containing too many 
drone-cells. They are likewise more or less 
irregular. For these reasons it is better not 
to use them. 
This picture shows a longer way of transferring, 
hut it avoids the necessity of cutting and fitting 
combs of brood into frames. The objections to 
the plan are the difficulty of getting the queen into 
the new hive and the length of time required to 
complete the transfer. 
The objection to the plan is that the av¬ 
erage beginner will not be able to drum 
out the bees and get the queen; but an ex¬ 
pert beekeeper can do so very readily. 
THE HEDDON SHORT WAY OF TRANSFERRING. 
The old box hive is moved back four or 
five feet, when a modern hive, with a full 
set of combs or foundation, is put in its 
place. The old hive is turned upside down, 
after which about two-thirds of the bees 
are drummed on to a board or a super¬ 
cover above, in the manner already ex¬ 
plained. In doing this drumming it is im- 
