om the top of their hive, but only near the entrance,
any one may be convinced of, who will put my frames into a suspended
hive with a movable bottom which may be made to drop at pleasure. If
now, for any purpose, he attempts to meddle with the combs from below,
he will find that unless he uses smoke, the bees will be almost, if not
quite unmanageable.

I shall now give some directions, which will greatly assist the Apiarian
in his operations. He must bear in mind that nothing irritates bees more
than a sudden jar, and that this must, in all cases, be most carefully
avoided. The inside cover of the hive, or as I shall term it, the
_honey-board_, because the surplus honey receptacles stand upon it, can
never be very firmly attached by the bees: it may always be readily
loosened with a thin knife, or better still, with an apothecary's
spatula, which will be very useful for many purposes in the Apiary. When
the honey-board is removed, its lower surface will be usually covered
with bees, and it should be carefully set on end, so as not to crush
them. There is not the least danger that one of them will offer to
sting, as they are completely bewildered by the sudden introduction of
light, and their removal from the hive. As soon as the cover is disposed
of, the Apiarian should sprinkle the bees with the sweet solution. This
should descend from the watering-pot in a fine stream, so as not to
_drench_ the bees, and should fall upon the tops of the frames, as well
as between the ranges of comb. The bees will at once, accept the
proffered treat, and will begin lapping it up, as peaceably as so many
chickens helping themselves to corn. While they are thus engaged, the
frames must be very gently pried by a stick, from their attachments to
the rabbets on which they rest; this may be done without any jar and
without wounding or enraging a single bee. They may all be loosened
preparatory to removing them, in less than a minute.[17] By this time,
the sprinkled bees will have filled themselves, or if all have not done
so, the grateful intelligence that sweets have been furnished them, will
diffuse an unusual good nature through all the honied realm. The
Apiarian should now remove one of the outside frames, taking hold of its
two ends which rest upon the rabbets, and carefully lifting it out
without inclining it from its perpendicular position, so as not to
injure a single bee. The removal of the next comb, and of all the
succeeding ones