FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 183 



conld go out on her wedding-trip. The thing was so cer- 

 tain to work that I spent $37.50 for qneen-excluders to 

 put the plan in practice. 



SWARMING GALORE. 



In due time when queen-cells were sealed the swarms 

 began to issue. Then they returned. Then they came 

 out next day. Then they returned again. After doing 

 more or less of this, the time came when the young queens 

 began to emerge. Business became lively. Swarming 

 once a day did not always satisfy them. The number of 

 issues in a day became such that several swarms would 

 be out at a time, and they were not at all particular to 

 keep separate. Neither were they as methodical as 

 prime swarms about returning to their own hives. Al- 

 most any hive seemed to suit them providing there was 

 a good deal of noise at the entrance, and when swarming 

 got well under way for the day there were plenty of 

 hives with noise at the entrance. Whether the excluders 

 leaked queens, or whatever may have been the reason, 

 there were some cases of young queens being out, and 

 when there was a young queen in a swarm there was no 

 telling how many swarms would unite with it. 



ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR. 



After a swarm had been balked in its efforts a num- 

 ber of times there seemed to be a reckless disregard in 

 a good many cases as to the propriety of returning when 

 they had had plenty of time to discover that no young 

 queen had come out with them, and sometimes they 

 would settle and remain clustered for half a day, perhaps 

 several swarms in the cluster. Nothing so very bad 

 about that, if I had only been entirely sure that some 

 time they would return ; but when I stood gazing on a 

 brnch of bees as big as my body when I'm in best con- 

 dition, and meditated upon the chance of there being a 



