﻿160 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  G. 
  Desborough 
  on 
  the 
  

  

  stock 
  will 
  not 
  swarm 
  : 
  (of 
  course 
  we 
  are 
  now 
  speaking 
  of 
  a 
  stock 
  

   of 
  bees 
  in 
  a 
  common 
  straw 
  hive, 
  having 
  no 
  means 
  of 
  affording 
  

   extra 
  room 
  for 
  the 
  increased 
  number 
  of 
  bees. 
  Yet 
  even 
  in 
  a 
  stock 
  

   of 
  bees, 
  where 
  ample 
  means 
  are 
  at 
  hand 
  for 
  affording 
  working 
  

   room, 
  the 
  bees 
  will 
  occasionally 
  use 
  the 
  extra 
  space 
  for 
  this 
  lying 
  

   out, 
  as 
  it 
  is 
  termed, 
  instead 
  of 
  using 
  it 
  as 
  a 
  storehouse 
  for 
  honey). 
  

   "What 
  then 
  is 
  the 
  explanation 
  of 
  all 
  this? 
  We 
  may 
  occasionally, 
  

   when 
  a 
  hive 
  is 
  in 
  this 
  state, 
  see 
  the 
  bees 
  which 
  are 
  lying 
  out 
  

   drenched 
  with 
  rain 
  ; 
  yet 
  there 
  they 
  still 
  pertinaciously 
  hang. 
  Why 
  

   then 
  will 
  not 
  the 
  bees 
  remedy 
  the 
  inconvenience 
  by 
  forming 
  an 
  

   independent 
  colony 
  ? 
  simply 
  because 
  they 
  have 
  no 
  queen 
  in 
  a 
  

   proper 
  stage 
  to 
  lead 
  them 
  forth. 
  The 
  old 
  queen 
  has 
  died 
  a 
  natural 
  

   death, 
  leaving 
  young 
  queens 
  in 
  various 
  stages 
  of 
  forwardness, 
  and 
  

   until 
  one 
  is 
  matured 
  the 
  swarm 
  cannot 
  go 
  forth 
  ; 
  the 
  time 
  for 
  this 
  

   perfection 
  of 
  the 
  queen 
  has 
  been 
  passed 
  in 
  the 
  listless 
  idle 
  state 
  

   we 
  have 
  been 
  describing, 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  young 
  queen 
  is 
  

   matured, 
  particularly 
  if 
  unfavourable 
  weather 
  should 
  ensue, 
  the 
  

   season 
  will 
  be 
  so 
  far 
  advanced 
  that 
  the 
  stock 
  will 
  not 
  swarm. 
  

   Here 
  then 
  is 
  the 
  secret 
  of 
  the 
  stock 
  not 
  swarming, 
  the 
  renewing 
  

   of 
  the 
  queen 
  is 
  the 
  cause 
  of 
  all 
  ; 
  the 
  queen 
  existing 
  in 
  the 
  year 
  

   1852 
  in 
  the 
  stock 
  we 
  marked 
  C 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  leader 
  of 
  swarm 
  

   after 
  swarm, 
  has 
  successively 
  reigned 
  in 
  the 
  hives 
  A, 
  B 
  and 
  C, 
  has 
  

   left 
  her 
  liome 
  time 
  after 
  time 
  until 
  nature 
  has 
  become 
  exhausted 
  

   and 
  she 
  has 
  died 
  full 
  of 
  years, 
  and 
  her 
  successor 
  reigns 
  in 
  her 
  

   stead. 
  

  

  That 
  this 
  change 
  of 
  queens 
  takes 
  place 
  in 
  the 
  summer 
  after 
  the 
  

   hatching 
  of 
  drones, 
  or 
  at 
  all 
  events 
  after 
  the 
  laying 
  of 
  drone 
  eggs, 
  

   is 
  very 
  evident; 
  for 
  were 
  it 
  not 
  so 
  the 
  young 
  queens 
  would 
  be 
  

   barren 
  for 
  the 
  want 
  of 
  the 
  drones 
  to 
  impregnate 
  them, 
  and 
  the 
  

   inevitable 
  loss 
  of 
  the 
  stock 
  would 
  be 
  the 
  consequence. 
  

  

  It 
  does 
  not 
  invariably 
  happen 
  that 
  the 
  change 
  of 
  queens 
  is 
  

   always 
  preceded 
  by 
  the 
  hanging 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  bees, 
  that 
  will 
  depend 
  

   in 
  a 
  great 
  measure 
  on 
  the 
  numerical 
  strength 
  of 
  the 
  stock, 
  and 
  

   the 
  amount 
  of 
  space 
  provided 
  for 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  hive 
  ; 
  but 
  still 
  the 
  

   stock, 
  though 
  strong 
  enough 
  to 
  swarm, 
  will 
  not 
  do 
  so, 
  and 
  when 
  

   the 
  great 
  inconvenience 
  and 
  danger 
  to 
  the 
  bees 
  in 
  hanging 
  out 
  is 
  

   taken 
  into 
  consideration, 
  it 
  strengthens 
  the 
  argument 
  that 
  some 
  

   dire 
  necessity 
  compels 
  them 
  to 
  endure 
  the 
  inconvenience 
  and 
  risk 
  

   the 
  danger. 
  Again, 
  the 
  renewal 
  of 
  the 
  queen 
  may 
  take 
  place 
  

   without 
  any 
  other 
  symptom 
  being 
  present 
  than 
  the 
  nonswarming 
  

   of 
  the 
  stock 
  ; 
  the 
  honey 
  gathering 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  interrupted 
  in 
  any 
  

   degree, 
  nor 
  the 
  ordinary 
  labours 
  of 
  the 
  hive 
  suspended. 
  

  

  