The facility of hiving depends altogether upon the place chosen by the cluster for settling. From the end of a bough, or from a low shrub or bush, there is no difficulty in securing the swarm. Taking a clean skep in one hand, and holding it just under the mass of insects, a sharp shake is given with the other hand to the branch, and nearly the whole of the bees will fall into the hive. Comparatively few will fly, the vastly larger proportion having clung too tightly to one another readily to disengage themselves. As soon as possible, a floor-board should be quietly and gently placed over the open end of the skep, which must now be inverted, so as to rest on the board. One side may be slightly propped, to afford the flying bees opportunity of more speedy admission to the interior than the ordinary entrance hole would give them. Another quarter of an hour or twenty minutes will suffice for all but a small number of stragglers to join their companions inside. Meantime, a shade should be again provided, till all have entered. [Illustration: Fig. 62.--Hiving a Swarm.] If it is intended to locate the colony in a bar-frame hive, this should have been also previously made ready, the frames being furnished with sheets of guide-comb. The coverings being then removed from the top, and the skep containing the bees held above the frames, by a sharp jerk downwards, and a rap or two on the top and sides of the straw hive, all the bees may be made to fall on the bars of the frames. They will speedily crawl down on to the sheets of guide-comb, especially if a light cloth be gently laid above them. Another method of transferring them from the skep is to spread a sheet, or newspaper, in front of the bar-frame hive, which should be slightly raised in front from the floor-board. Then, by a smart jerk, as before, the bees are thrown on to the sheet or newspaper, close to the entrance, and they will immediately run in and up on to the comb-foundation. Sometimes a swarm will divide into two parts, each of which will settle separately. In such a case, it is tolerably certain that two queens have emerged together, as very often happens with second or later swarms. When such a division of forces occurs, unless each portion is sufficiently large to form a stock by itself, it will be advisable to hive them separately, and then speedily to unite them, leaving the rival sovereigns to fight for the supremacy.