Where the permanent hive is of the skep description the swarm may of course be hived into it at once. But with many of the hives now in approved use a process of transference will be necessary. To effect this, place the straw hive, into which we will suppose the bees have been shaken, on the ground, propped up on one side with a brick or a flower-pot, or anything of the sort that may be handy, in order that straggler bees may join the swarm. The spot selected for this should be as shady a one as can be found, near to the place where the swarm settled; or it may be shaded from the rays of the sun by fixing matting on two poles, so as to prevent the heat falling on the hive. Spread a sheet or cloth on the ground where an even surface can be obtained; stake this sheet down at the four corners, to prevent ruts and inequalities, which are great hindrances to the bees going into the hive (Mr. Cheshire's swarming-board, which is simply a large square board to rest on the hive-stand, has its advantages); place the frame hive upon the sheet, without its floor-board, having its front raised on blocks or sticks rather more than an inch long—not more, otherwise the bees will cluster, and attach themselves to the lower part of the frames, instead of going up between. These preparations will perhaps occupy ten minutes, by which time the swarm will have become settled and tolerably quiet. Then, with a sharp rap, precipitate the bees out of the straw hive on to the sheet immediately in front of the frame hive; give the straw hive another knock, so as to dislodge all the bees, and then take it quite away, otherwise they may, if it be left near, perversely choose to go into that, instead of the one desired. In an hour or so, more or less, the whole swarm will have clustered within the frames.
In some cases, as when the swarm has to be brought from a distance and procured from a cottager about whose skill in carrying out these directions there may be misgivings, it is best to give instructions that the swarm be brought home after sunset, and then the foregoing directions for inducing the bees to tenant the frame hive may be better carried out. For ourselves, we much prefer the evening for the purpose. Not after dusk however—in fact no operation of the kind ought to be attempted when it is so dark that the bees, if they should fly, are unable to see where to fly to, for in that case they will be sure to settle upon the operator. A little water sprinkled over them from a watering-pot is likely to induce them to quit the ground and go up into the hive more quickly; a little smoke, or a touch with a twig or feather, may answer the same purpose, and if the feather be dipped in diluted carbolic acid it will more speedily do its work. With a goose wing they may conveniently be swept up. The operator should be protected with the bee dress and other precautions described on [page 209].
Mr. Langstroth writes: "If they seem at all reluctant to enter [the new hive], gently scoop up a few of them with a large spoon and shake them close to its entrance. As they go in with fanning wings, they will raise a peculiar note, which communicates to their companions the joyful news that they have found a home; and in a short time the whole swarm will enter, without injury to a single bee." On catching the note the queen speedily follows, and, being longer in limb, she outstrips the others in the race.
In the Journal of Horticulture, Mr. Woodbury says: "If combs be fixed in the frames, the crown-board may be removed and the cluster knocked out of the straw hive on to the top of the exposed frames. The bees will disappear between them with the utmost alacrity, delighted to have met with a ready-furnished dwelling, and the top, or crown-board, having been replaced, the hive should at once be removed to the position it is intended to permanently occupy."
Bees occasionally manifest a dislike to their new hive. The operator will, however, in a very short time be able to ascertain their intentions. If on putting his ear to the hive he catches sounds like gnawing or rubbing, he may be sure that they have commenced work; but if all is still, or they go listlessly about, and hang, as Langstroth puts, it, "with a sort of dogged or supercilious air," it may be gathered that they intend to be off at the first opportunity. In such case, either catch the queen and put her in a cage ([page 198]), or keep the whole hive in darkness for three days, supplying food, water, and ventilation the while.
If the weather be wet the next day or so after hiving, it will be well to give a little assistance to the new colony in the shape of food, for although, when a swarm leaves a hive, almost every bee composing it has filled itself with honey, we have known not a few instances, in case of very wet weather, in which the whole swarm has been starved for the want of this small but most timely help. A little should be given the first night even in fine weather. Of course, the first work of the bees is to build themselves combs, and these combs being produced by the secretion of wax from honey, a great drain upon their resources immediately begins, and any little outlay at this juncture is therefore abundantly compensated.
§ III. TRANSFERRING OLD STOCKS.
We frequently find that the possessor of a stock of bees in a cottager's common straw hive is desirous of removing the whole stock, with brood and comb, into one of our improved hives, in which the honey may be obtained without the destruction of the bees. We mostly discourage such a transfer, attended as it is with much labour, and requiring a considerable amount of apiarian skill. An old-fashioned hive may very readily be turned into a humane one, simply by cutting out the middle of the top of the hive with a sharp-pointed knife; a piece may thus easily be taken out, so as to leave a round hole two or three inches in diameter, taking care that the knife does not penetrate much below the straw, lest it reach the comb or the bees. There should be ready a round adapting-board, with a corresponding hole, which may be secured on the top by putting four long nails through the same number of holes in the board; then a cap-hive or a glass may be placed on the top, for the purpose of admitting the bees, who will soon crowd therein to work. This hive or glass will form a super or depriving-hive, and can be worked as profitably as most of the improved hives. For the sake of more sightly appearance, an outside case, either of zinc, straw, or wood, may now be dropped over all, and then, if well painted, the whole will form no disfigurement to any flower-garden.
This is, beyond doubt, the easiest way of overcoming the difficulty, but as it may not satisfy all, we will now proceed to describe how a complete transfer of colonies may be effected. No hive offers such facilities for the placing of the combs in a perfectly upright position as does the frame hive. As before remarked, we should be slow to recommend any one to attempt the operation who is not already pretty well accustomed to the handling of bees and acquainted with their habits; but by carefully carrying out the following directions an apt bee-keeper may successfully perform the feat. The first thing is to get the bees away from the combs: there are two ways of doing this—one is by fumigation (see [page 207]), the other by driving ([page 226]). Whichever plan may be resorted to, place the bees in the temporary hive on their old stand until you are quite ready to admit them into the frame hive. Have in readiness all the necessary appliances. These consist of a large knife for cutting the hive, a good-sized table on which to lay the brood combs, a basin of water—for washing off honey which may besmear the hands—tape or string to fasten the combs in their frames, a pair of honey-cutters ([page 193]) for cutting out the combs, jars to hold the honey that runs out, and a feather for brushing off any bees that may remain. It is necessary that the operator should have on his bee dress and india-rubber gloves. If the old skep is not valued the operation will be facilitated by cutting it in half vertically between the two middle combs; but the honey-cutters will accomplish the object without this destruction if it is not desired. Mr. Cheshire's transferring board ([page 192]) comes in useful here. If one is possessed the frames may be laid upon it, and the combs, which should be cut as large as possible, must then be placed within these. Of course they will not exactly fit, but they must be adjusted, piece by piece, till they bind each other together; the few interstices the bees will soon fill up. If in any of the frames there is not sufficient comb, supply empty comb if it is to hand, and in default of such, fix an additional bottom bar inside the frame—a false bottom as it may be called—at whatever height the supply of comb requires. Drone comb, however, should be used very sparingly, and this only for the outside frames, in which it is not likely to be selected by the queen for breeding purposes, but left for storage of honey. Both filled and partly filled frames must now be made secure by tying pieces of tape or pliable wire (even string will answer) round the whole from top bar to bottom or false bottom; there should be two of these to a frame, or perhaps three if the pieces of comb are small. In two days or so the bees will have made all firm enough for the tape to be dispensed with, which should accordingly be done, as it is in the bees' way. To effect this, dismember first the cells from the tape by means of a sharp knife, and then cut the tape and draw it out. Care should be taken that the combs occupy the same position in the frames as in the hive from which they were extracted, for the cells are not exactly horizontal, but inclined slightly upwards. Supply guide-comb or wax strips to any frames that are wholly unoccupied.
The frames now filled are placed in the hive, when the bees may be let into it in the manner Mr. Woodbury recommends for a swarm (see [page 220]). It may be as well to keep them confined a few hours, giving them water at the top, by means of a soaked sponge laid on perforated zinc, until they make the combs secure; the object of this being to exclude the bees from other hives, who, if feloniously inclined, might come to rob. For the same reason the operation of adjusting the combs should not be performed in the open air, or the bees from surrounding hives will be sure to come in great numbers to obtain a share of the honey necessarily exposed. It should be done inside a room with the temperature at about 70 degrees—not cold enough to chill the brood, nor yet hot enough to soften the combs. An expert apiarian could perform the operation in less than three-quarters of an hour, and with little loss. A week or so after a swarm has left the old stock is perhaps the very best time for such a removal. In some instances a routing of this kind has a beneficial effect; old stocks of hives that have previously appeared to be dwindling are often aroused to activity by their removal into a fresh domicile. After the winter's doze this is especially the case, say if done on a warm day early in April. We have ourselves frequently shifted the stock from a well-occupied frame hive to a fresh one, in which the bees find a clean floor-board and walls, as well as freedom from insects that may have harboured in crevices during the winter.