78 HOW TO KEEP BEES 



bees at the beginning of the honey-flow seem to be 

 getting ready to swarm, the hive is moved to one 

 side of the stand and on the exact site is placed 

 another just Hke it, which contains frames set with 

 foundation starters. As gently as possible the bees 

 are shaken or brushed from the frames of the old 

 hive upon the threshold of the new, great care being 

 taken to include the queen. The supers from the 

 old hive are then placed upon the new hive with a 

 queen-excluder between. The old hive may stand 

 beside the new one until the brood has emerged, 

 when all of the inhabitants of the old tenement are 

 shaken in front of the new habitation. This shaking 

 of a colony into a new hive so surprises and confounds 

 the bees that they get the impression that they have 

 already swarmed, and go to work with all diligence 

 in their new quarters. The partly filled supers 

 from the old hive encourage them mightily in the 

 ways of well-doing. 



By dividing swarms. — ^This method we have 

 practised with quite satisfactory results. The 

 troublous question is just when to divide. If we 

 divide too soon we weaken the colonies, and decrease 

 the honey harvest. If we wait until too late, the bees 

 do the dividing themselves. The process is as fol- 

 lows : The queen's wings are clipped before the new 

 queen is to emerge, and she is placed in a new hive 

 furnished with brood-frames containing foundation- 

 starters; enough of the bees are taken to the hive 

 with her to start a good colony, and the deed is done. 

 However, the fact remains that in this way the number 



