u. 



VNITIiyG BEES. Uniting colonies 

 is much like introducing queens, inasmuch 

 as no fixed rule can be given for all cases. 

 It is a very simple matter to lift the frames, 

 bees and all, out of one hive and set them 

 into another, where the two are situated side 

 by side. Usually there will be no quarrel- 

 ing, if this is done when the weather is too 

 cold for the bees to fly, but this is not al- 

 ways the case. If one colony is placed close 

 to one side of the hive, and the other to the 

 other side, and there is room enough for a 

 v.icant comb or two between them, they will 

 very rarely fight. After two or three days 

 the bees will be found to have united peace- 

 ably, when the brood and stores may be 

 placed compactly together, and division- 

 lo irds put in at each side. If there are 

 frames containing some honey that can not 

 be put in, they should be placed in an upper 

 story, and the bees allowed to carry it down. 

 \^ou should always look to them 20 minutes 

 or half an hour after they are put into one 

 hive, to see if every thing is amicable on 

 "both sides of the house." If you find any 

 bees fighting, or doubled up on the bottom 

 board, give them such a smoking that they 

 can not tell " which from t'other," and after 

 15 or 20 minutes, if they are fighting again, 

 give them another " dose," and repeat until 

 they are good to each other. AVe have never 

 failed in getting them peaceable after two or 

 three smokings. 



VVheQ you wish to unite two colonies so 

 large that a single story will not easily con- 

 t lin them, which, by the way, we feel sure 

 is always poor policy, or if their honey is 

 scattered through the whole ten combs in 

 eacli hive, proceed as before, only set one 

 hive over the other. When done during cool 

 weather, and the bees kept in for two or three 

 days, few, if any, will go back to the old 

 stand. If the hives stand within i^ix feet of 

 each other, they all get back without trouble 

 any way, for they hear the call of their com- 

 rades who have discovered the new order of 

 things. Sometimes you can take two colo- 

 nies while flying, and put them together 

 without trouble, by making their comrades 

 call the lost bees. Only actual practice, and 

 acquaintance with their habits, will enable 

 you to do this; and if you lark that knowl 



edge, you must get it by experience. Pi ac: 

 tice on a couple of colonies that you do not 

 value much. As we have said all along, be- 

 ware of robbers, or you will speedily make 

 two colonies into none at all, instead of into 

 one. 



In uniting bees it is excellent to change 

 both colonies to be united from their own 

 hives into a third empty one. This seems 

 to take the spunk out of them. 



WHAT TO DO WITH THE QUEENS. 



If one of the colonies to be united has been 

 several days queenless, all the better ; for a 

 queenless colony will often give up its local- 

 ity and accept a new one, if simply shaken 

 in front of a hive containing a laying queen. 

 From a hive containing neither queen nor 

 brood, we have induced the wiiole lot to de- 

 sert and go over to a neighboring colony, 

 by simply shaking some of the bees in front 

 of it. They were so overjoyed at finding a 

 laying queen as to call all their comrades to 

 the new home, then all hands set to work 

 and carried every drop of honey to the hive 

 containing the fertile queen. By taking ad- 

 vantage of this disposition we can often 

 make short work of uniting. If you are in 

 a hurry, or do not care for the queens, you 

 can unite without paying any attention to 

 them, and one will be killed ; but, as even a 

 hybrid queen is now worth 15 cts., w^e do not 

 think it pays to kill them. Remove the 

 poorest one and keep her safely caged until 

 you are sure the other is well received by 

 the bees. If she is killed, as is sometimes 

 the case, you have the other to replace her. 

 Where stocks are several rods apart, they 

 are often moved a couple of feet a day wiiile 

 the bees are flying briskly, until they are 

 side by side, and then united as we have di- 

 rected. This is so much trouble that we 

 much pi-efer waiting for cold weather. If 

 yoiir bees are in box hives, we should say 

 your first work on hand is to transfer them. 

 If you have several kinds of hives in your 

 apiary you are about as badly off, and the 

 remedy is to throw away all but one. 



In conclusion, we would advise deferring 

 the uniting of your bees until we have sev- 

 eral cold rainy days, in October, for instance, 

 on which bees will not fly. Then proceed as 



