The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1868-06-05
Riying Bees.

When bees are allowed to swarm nat
urally, everything should be in readi-
ness before the swarming season arrives,
so that when swarms come of, there
NAV be no confusion or difficulty In
hiving. Hives should be kept cool, and
fold, they should be we'll cleaned. If a
swarm is seen issuing from hive, do
not get in n "furry," but keep cool. Do
not be so foolish as to blow horns. ring
bells, and scare your bees TO the woods;
but stand quietly aud watch their move
ments, and Hin9teen times out OF twenty
they will cluster all right. As soon as
they have settled, prepare to hive them,
an operation which may DO successfully
done, and without the least difficulty, as
follows:
First, bring a dish of cold water, and
with the hand or whisk OF grass,
sprinkle the cluster well. This will
make them perfectly quiet and easy to
handle. Bring out a table; or if that is
not convenient, spread cloth or boards
upon the ground, and if they are to be
hiyed into common box or straw hive,
set it upon the table or place prepared
for il, raise up one side au inch or more
and put under stone or chip to hold lt.
Then shake your bees into a pan, baS-
ket. nail. or any dish that will hold them
dswn near the hive, and they will at
once commence to enter. If it is desir
able to have them enter faster than they
are naturally inclined to do, take a
wing and gently wing them In. As soon
as all, or nearly all, are in, the hive
should be carried to its stand, and well
shaded if the sun is shining. New hives
or newly painted hives should be shad-
ed for several days, as bees cannot stay
in an over-heated hive. If the bees
cluster upon q limb from which 1t would
be difficult to shake them, the limb may
be sawed off and laid near the hive;
the bees will soon leave and enter.
Sometimes bees will cluster on the body
of a tree, when it is more difficult to get
them off without irritating them. They
should be well sprinkled, and very care
fully brushed of with'a wing or quill
feather, into u dish, and carried to the
hive, as before stated. An inexperienced
person, or novice, should in this case
wear bee-prstectOr. 1t will give them
courage, and they will move more care
fully.
This plan of hiving will be found
much better than the old method of
shaking the bees into the hive and then
turning it over upon table or board.
have known the queen to be killed by
turning over the hive, and more or less
bees are always killed in the operation.
If movable comb hives are used, they
should be so constructed that the bot
tom board may DO dropped at the rear
of the hive, for the purpose of putting
in the bees, when hiying. Swarms
should never be allowed to stand where
they are hived until evening, as
is the practice with some, but
should be moved at once
to their stands, as seine of the bees will
20 into the field to work in ten minutes
after they are hived; and if left until
evening, large numbers of them will
have commenced to work, and having
marked the spot, will return there next
day, and not finding the hive, will wan.
der about, and many will be lost. Sec
ond swarns are generally far more IT.
ritable than first or top swart1s; hence,
these are far moro likely TO sting. But
cold water will soon quiet them, and
they may be hived with safety .-CGRGda
Farmer,