66 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



of an overcrowded hive on a hot day; this latter is a 

 most cogent reason, and it is well for the bee-keeper 

 to shade his hives to prevent this. The swarms are 

 likely to issue between 9 a. m. and 2 p. m., although 

 enough swarms come off at unseemly hours to make 

 any rule valueless except as a prophecy. (Plate XL) 



HOW TO HIVE A SWARM 



"The bees are swarming!" These are magical 

 words, which arouse every member of that family 

 whose pride is a few hives in the garden. It is a 

 cry that starts the sluggish blood, and sends a quiver 

 of excitement up and down the spinal column while 

 one rushes to the scene of action. How gracefully 

 that moving mass of black particles undulates in the 

 air, as if it were a drifting cloud instead of a self- 

 willed, one-minded colony of socialists! How the 

 heart rises and sinks inversely to this rise and fall, 

 and how hopeless it seems when the swarm lifts 

 itself superbly over all surrounding obstacles, and 

 disappears above the tree tops! No one who has 

 had this experience will wonder at the ancient cus- 

 tom which obtains even now in the country districts 

 on such occasions of beating tin pans, ringing bells, 

 and shouting "whoa" at the top of the lungs. All 

 of this racket had its inception in the needs of the 

 bee-keeper to adequately express his feelings at this 

 crisis. If the bees ever stopped and settled because 

 of this din, it was probably from sheer amazement 

 at witnessing such folly on the part of human beings; 

 this explanation would hold, perhaps, if bees ever 



