576 
MANIPULATION OF COLONIES 
take possession of the field because they 
are possessed of that small but mighty 
weapon, the sting. Nothing could be fur¬ 
ther from the truth. 
There is probably not one person in a 
hundred who is not perfectly capable of 
handling bees. Whether he can make money 
or honey out of them is not a question so 
easy to answer, but that he can learn to 
handle them—that he can overcome all nat¬ 
ural fear and prejudice—has been demon¬ 
strated by thousands who have commenced 
beekeeping, and know no fear of them. 
Under the head of Anger op Bees and 
under Stings it is shown that bees are not 
the irascible little creatures that many 
people suppose; that they are, on the con¬ 
trary, when their nature is carefully stud¬ 
ied, as gentle as kittens; and when one 
goes about it in the right way, they can be 
handled almost as safely. (See A B C of 
Beekeeping at the beginning of this 
work.) But one cannot thoroly know this 
until he has actually opened a hive or seen 
it opened, and actually handled the combs 
for himself. This is not saying bees will 
not sting when handled improperly or at 
the wrong time. 
The beginner should understand that bees 
can be worked very much better when 
weather conditions are right. The day 
should be warm, the sun shining, and the 
time selected for the manipulation between 
ten in the morning and three in the after¬ 
noon. Experienced beekeepers can handle 
them at any time under practically all con¬ 
ditions; but even the veterans endeavor to 
do it when they can work to the best advan¬ 
tage. In early spring or late in the fall, 
or when the atmosphere is chilly, or at any 
time immediately following a rain, or after 
a sudden stoppage of the honey flow, bees 
are inclined to be cross. When it is cold, 
the bee glue in the hives is brittle. In order 
to open a hive at such times it is neces¬ 
sary to break this bee glue with a snap or 
jar. This always has a tendency to irritate 
the bees, even when weather conditions are 
favorable. The beginner at least should 
select his time, and of course will endeavor 
to make his movements very deliberate, 
avoiding quick jerky movements, all snaps 
or jars. There are times when one will be 
compelled to open hives when the bee glue 
snaps and when the bees sting; but he will 
then have the experience and proper appli¬ 
ances for doing the work. 
TOOLS FOR BEE WORK. 
Before details of manipulations are con¬ 
sidered, it will be necessary to take up 
tools and conveniences, without which the 
handling of colonies would be difficult or 
even impossible at times. There are sev¬ 
eral essentials which may be mentioned 
in the order of their importance: A bee- 
smoker (see Smokers) for quieting the 
bees; a bee-veil (see Veils), and suitable 
clothing for protection against stings, and 
some form of knife, screwdriver, or hive- 
tool to separate the frames and parts of 
the hive from each other that are usually 
stuck together with bee glue. Without the 
smoker and its intelligent use one would 
feel almost inclined to go back to the days 
of our forefathers when they hri m stoned 
their bees (see Box Hives). But with 
smoke properly applied, one can render 
bees tractable that would be otherwise ner¬ 
vous and hard to handle. Even when con¬ 
ditions are bad, weather chilly and pro¬ 
polis hard, they can generally be brought 
under control. The intelligent use of the 
smoker will often render the use of the 
veil unnecessary; and not a few experi¬ 
enced beekeepers do not use a veil constant¬ 
ly, but have it conveniently hanging from 
