EEV. H. E. PEEL BEES AXD BEE-KEEPIXG. 189 



be hatched and fed, while the young bees are coming out of the 

 cells, so they accommodate themselves to circumstances, and some 

 begin building fresh combs to fill those frames of the hive which 

 are as yet empty, and mere outlines on which work has to be done. 



The use of artificial comb-production, a German invention 

 adopted extensively by American bee-keepers, assists the bee 

 greatly at this juncture, both in suggesting the building of the 

 comb, and in helping them to build it in a straight line, so that 

 the combs shall not run into one another, but be easily lifted and 

 taken out of the hive for any future operations. The artificial 

 swarm, if weather and other circumstances favour it, will be found 

 to have filled their new frames with comb in about a week ; some- 

 times in much less time. Mr. Cheshire mentioned, at a meeting at 

 Great Berkhampstead, a case in which his bees had filled a hive 

 with comb in 68 hours. 



Let us now turn our attention for a moment to the parent hive 

 from which the artificial swarm has been taken, and which has 

 been removed as far as possible from its old stand. If it can be 

 removed for three or four miles there is little chance of the old 

 bees flying back to their old stand, but supposing this cannot be 

 done, and that the bees can only be removed a few yards oif, what 

 is to be done then ? There are three combs (let us say) removed 

 from this old hive, but there are eight other combs left with 

 brood in various stages of development in many of them (eleven 

 combs in a hive is the usual number in modern bar-framed hives). It 

 is best, before removing the old hive, to close up its entrance with 

 perforated zinc, thus allowing full ventilation at the entrance of 

 the hive. In every well-made hive, ventilation holes covered with 

 perforated zinc will be found in the roof or cover. Imprison the 

 old bees left in the old hive until the afternoon of the third day. 

 Then remove the zinc from the entrance and let them fly back to 

 their old position if they like. During the time of their imprison- 

 ment thousands of young bees will have been hatching, and these 

 knowing no other home will all unite in the labours of the hive. 

 The imprisoned bees must be supplied with water during the time 

 of their durance vile to enable them to prepare food for the lai'vae. 

 Honey and bee-bread they will have in theii" combs in abundance at 

 this time of the year; but there is no queen in the old hive 

 now, and when the eggs which the old queen laid in its combs 

 have hatched out, the increase of the population will come to a 

 sudden end. Besides this, the bees will not work without a queen, 

 and their stores will soon become the prey of robber-bees from 

 other hives who will take advantage of their disorganised con- 

 dition. How is this defect to be remedied ? If the bee-master has 

 chosen his time for artificially swarming judiciously, i.e. as nearly 

 as possible to the time when natural swarming would have com- 

 menced (and by the use of a moveable comb hive he can easily 

 ascertain from the state of his hive when this would be), the old 

 or parent stock will contain a certain number of queen-cells in 

 different stages of maturity. The appearance of these queen-celli^ 



VOL. II. — I'T. V. 14 



