PRODUCTION OF HONEY. 197 



ion on the ninth or tenth day from the time of mak- 

 ing the division. 



Then, by making one interchange of comb on the 

 fourteenth to the sixteenth day, by the time either 

 hive would be full the propensity to swarm would be 

 abated ; honey boxes might then be put in with tol- 

 erable safety from further swarming, yet the chances 

 to get the boxes filled would not be as good as at an 

 earlier period. 



The aim of every bee-keeper (who understands his 

 business) will always be to keep his stock in such a 

 shape that he can have his hives full and ready to 

 store surplus honey at the commencement of a har- 

 vest of flowers that are known to bloom at a certain 

 time. This object is to be accomplished by keeping 

 the stocks strong ; also by furnishing pasture, or feed- 

 ing at a time when nature does not afford a sufficient 

 supply. 



I will here describe a peculiarity of the honey bee, 

 or rather, a provision of nature to guard against over- 

 population. This feature seems not to have been 

 noticed by any previous author. Where bees are 

 sparsely scattered over a country having abundant 

 pasturage, the propensity to swarm is very great ; so 

 much so, that from three to four-fold increase per 

 year can be counted on with tolerable certainty. 

 (There are instances where more than twice this in- 

 crease has been attained.) But as the same country 

 becomes largely populated with bees, the number of 

 swarms departing is gradually lessened, till finally 



