i8 7 o.] THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES. 103 



bees to swarm, but it is also not natural for the bees to be idle ; and 

 by forcing the swarm, the bee-master will perhaps save himself two or 

 three weeks of weary watching and waiting. To obtain a forced swarm, 

 puff a little tobacco-smoke into the hive as the first preliminary • this 

 will cause a terrible commotion, and the bees will appear as if deter- 

 mined not to endure it, and will make preparations to quit the hive when 

 they begin to inhale so noisome an effluvium. They will rush in masses 

 to the honey-cells as a preliminary to their exodus, and commence 

 gorging themselves with honey, which makes them so good-tempered 

 that the hive may be gently turned upside down, and scarcely a bee 

 will attempt to fly or use its sting. An empty skep should then be 

 placed upon the inverted hive, and a bandage placed round the point of 

 contact of the two ; then with two light sticks beat the sides of the 

 lower hive so as to cause a slight jarring of the combs : this continued 

 for about ten minutes causes the queen and a great majority of the 

 bees to ascend to the upper hive — in fact, the swarm gathers there, and 

 may safely be placed on the stand. 



The original stock-hive should be removed to a distance for a few 

 days, during which time many hundreds of young bees will be hatched, 

 and the hive will be apparently as full of bees as ever. If on driving 

 out a swarm a queen-cell could be obtained from another stock and 

 inserted in the old stock, a young queen would be hatched in about 

 nine days earlier than otherwise ; and nine days in summer is some- 

 thing, especially at a time when honey is plentiful. By the insertion 

 of an Italian queen-cell at this time the bees may be Ligurianised, 

 and all the future bees in that hive would be either pure Italians or 

 hybrids; indeed, it is in the province of the bee-master to cause 

 queen-cells to be created for these occasions from the best breeds of 

 bees in his apiary. If a natural swarm be desired, the bee-master 

 must wait the pleasure of his bees, thousands of whom remain idle 

 until some fortuitous combination of circumstances suggests the idea, 

 as it were, to the bees, and they prepare to swarm. This is accom- 

 plished in the following manner : The working bees select certain 

 cells containing a fertile egg or young larva, which cells they 

 enlarge and lengthen to such an extent that they appear something 

 like a series of excrescences on the sides of the combs, somewhat in the 

 shape of an acorn, tapering and pendulous, and sealed at the end with 

 a porous covering. This causes the reigning queen to become greatly 

 excited, and she instinctively endeavours to destroy the growing 

 power which threatens to interfere with her prerogative. She is, 

 however, held in restraint by the bees, who seize her by the legs and 

 wings, and hold her back; and they otherwise prevent her doing 

 mischief by clustering round the objects of her hatred. This goes on 



