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THE HONEY-BEE OF NEW ZEALAND. 29

of hiving his bees which may have settled there, if he
but set to work quietly and perseveringly. Do not use
thick gloves, or any of those other articles of bee dress
which you will sometimes see recommended. For any
thing which hinders you from moving about with ease -
anything which prevents you from handling your bees with a
gentle touch - anything, in fact, which makes you
awkward, or shows that you are timid umongst them,
will be less likely to protect you from stings than to
draw them down upon you. The bees too are particu-
larly gentle when in the act of swarming, however
irascible the parent hive may have been up to that time.
If the swarm has alighted on a small bough, nothing
is easier than to hive them. Spread a cloth on the
ground, and on it place the bottom board of the hive.
An assistant must then hold the stem, on which the bees
are settled, on each side of the cluster, so that it may
not fall to the ground, when you with a sharp knife cut
it off. Place the twig, with the bees hanging to it,
gently on the bottom board, and then set your hive over
it, propping it up on one side, that the bees which are
still on the wing may find their way in. Lap the cloth
round over the hive on all sides but this one, and other-
wise shade it well from the sun, and your work is done
till the evening, when you must set the hive where it is
to stand. You should, however, keep an eye upon them,
or else when you go to move your hive you may find it
empty, the bees having flown.
The Rev. J. G. Wood says truly that for the most part
all the details of bee-management can be best learned from
practice, and the study of the essential objects which
details are intended to secure. It is also to be observed,
that such details are unsettled to this hour, and vary
among the best apiarists.
Almost the entire success of bee management depends
upon the capabilities of the apiarian to take advantages of
all the various changes which must take place according
to the variations of temperature, locality, and seasons.
While, therefore, it would display great presumtion on
the part of a beginner to dispense with the rules which
the extensive experience of veteran bee-masters has enabled