26 FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 



cautions, without sustaining any injury. Bees are certainly 

 much less inclined to sting, when swarming, than usual ; 

 and, if gently dealt with, may then commonly be handled 

 With safety. 



If two clusters of Bees form in swarming, and remain 

 separate, a Queen will be found in each ; and as no Swarm 

 that leaves a hive is ever too large, one of the Queens must 

 be destroyed, and then the Bees will all unite. In cases 

 of this kind, it would seem that the Queen last released 

 from her cell is let out a little too soon, and before her 

 Predecessor has had time to go off with a Swarm^ and by 

 this mean the younger Queen goes off with the rest. 



If a Swarm has been destitute of a Queen tor as much as 

 twenty four hours, they will receive a new one that is a 

 Stranger; but, if offered to them at first, she would be re- 

 jected by them and put to death. 



The hive should be proportioned to the size of the 

 Swarm; one therefore weighing from four to six pounds 

 should have a hive that will contain about three pecks. In 

 this Country, hives are commonly made of boards or of 

 straw. The former we believe to be as good as any, and 

 must be used for the management we would recommend, 

 which is as follows 5 



The hive is to have a hole in the top, say, two inches 

 square, which is to be covered wit'i a sliding shutter ; and 

 is to kept closed until the hive is filled. When this is the 

 case, which is to be known by the Bees lying inactive about 

 its mouth, open the hole above, by drawing the shutter 

 back, and set a small hive on the top, into which the Bees 

 will ascend, and fill it with the purest honey, and whitest 

 comb, without any mixture of bee-bread. 



When the upper hive is full, take it off in a cool morn- 

 ing, when the Bees are inactive^ and carry it into a room 

 with the windows open to the morning sun, and as this en- 

 livens them they will fly off to the hive left standing, to 

 join their companions in filling another small hive, which 

 is to be placed on the top, as before. When this is full 

 take it away, and put another in its place, which, in due 

 time, is also to be taken away ; closing the shutter, and 

 leaving the lower hive for the Winter food of the Swarm. 



The upper hives should be sufficiently large to contain 

 about seventeen pounds of honey, which the Bees, if the 

 Swarm be as large as it should be, will usually fill about 

 three times in the season. 



In taking out the honey from these small hives, which 

 should be done speedily, let those Bees which are found 

 unable to fly be thrown into a vessel of cold water, so con- 

 trived thai they can crawl out again, and they will soon 

 recover their wonted activity, and go after their companions. 



