. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. at our smith's, as shown in sketch, to clamp six frames together, which they do to perfection, providing they have shoulders or pins to keep them apart, holding the frames as firm and rigid as if they were one piece. The thumbscrews. of clamps are passed through the ends of a piece of leather strapping a little longer than the clamps, thus forming convenient handles for lifting by, as shown. The lid has deep plinths, and is held firmly to the box by four thumb- screws passing through the plinths into sides of box, this in its turn holding
. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. at our smith's, as shown in sketch, to clamp six frames together, which they do to perfection, providing they have shoulders or pins to keep them apart, holding the frames as firm and rigid as if they were one piece. The thumbscrews. of clamps are passed through the ends of a piece of leather strapping a little longer than the clamps, thus forming convenient handles for lifting by, as shown. The lid has deep plinths, and is held firmly to the box by four thumb- screws passing through the plinths into sides of box, this in its turn holding the whole set of frames quite firm, which allows me to use the box bottoiu upwards, exactly as one would a skep, and hive the bees direct upon the frames they are to occupy, or if the box (of course bottomless) is propped above a swarm, it is astonishing how quickly they will take possession and cluster among tlie frames. As soon as they have had a minute or so to cluster, which they will generally do in less time than it takes md to remove the old stock: and place a hive ready for them, I stand the box in its own bottom board, which has plinths all round, with bee- entrance at one end. I carry them at once to the stand they are to occupy (often having to cross a low wall or two from my neighbour's garden): being entirely enclosed in the box, it is quite equal to the occasion. Having brought the swarm to their stand, it only re- mains to unscrew the lid of the box and lift out the frames with adhering bees by the leather straps into their hive, when scarcely a bee will take wing. Indeed, they hardly seem aware of the change, for, on lifting them out, the full- sized quilt used above frames in the box drops down on each side of the swarm, so that very little sun reaches the bees. As soon as lifted into their hive I at once take one thumbscrew out of each clamp, when the clamps can be drawn from beneath the frames, and the job is done. The whole operation takes but a few minutes,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherlondon, booksubjectbees
