One or two _quilts_ should be cut out of some warm material just the size to cover the tops of the frames; a three-inch round hole should be made in the centre for the feeder. A small square piece of cloth should also be cut for covering the hole when the feeder is not on. Felt or baize is best for quilts, but pieces of old carpet answer the purpose very well. A quilt of ticking or unbleached calico, similarly cut, should be placed under the other quilts, next the bees, to prevent them from nibbling holes in the soft material. In preparing the hive for the reception of the swarm, see that the frames are equally spaced by means of the metal ends, so that they hang one and a half inches apart from centre to centre. Do not attempt to hive the swarm until late in the afternoon, say about 4 P.M. and 5 P.M. If the swarm arrives in the middle of the day, place it in a cool place, and see that it has plenty of ventilation. Do not follow the old-fashioned plan of smearing the inside of the hive with beer and sugar. It is a mistake to suppose that the bees require such mixtures when swarming, or, indeed, at any other time. The only thing they want now is a clean dry hive. For hiving the swarm, the alighting board will have to be extended by means of a large board, one or two feet wide, called a _hiving-board_, which may be propped up with bricks so as to be on a slight slant. The whole should be covered with a sheet. Also raise the stock-box up a little in front, so as to enlarge the entrance. The stock-box may be kept in this position by means of two little pebbles. Though the chances of getting badly stung while hiving a swarm of bees are more or less remote, it will be advisable to wear the bee-veil, if it be only for the purpose of inspiring confidence during the first attempt at bee-work. The smoker also, though seldom necessary on this occasion, may come in useful, and should be at hand, charged with a roll of smouldering brown paper. [Illustration: BEE-VEIL AND SMOKER.] Now shake a few bees on to the sheet. They will immediately commence running up into the hive. Scarcely any will take to the wing. When this first lot of bees has made a good start, some more may be shaken down on top of them, and this will have the effect of making them all much more eager to press into the hive. A few light puffs of smoke from the smoker may now be useful to dislodge an inert cluster, or to correct the course of a group of bees that may have a mistaken notion as to the direction in which the entrance to the hive lies.