SUITED TO WARM CLIMATES. 355 



ination made from time to time till its condition is 

 determined. When two hives are found very weak 

 it will perhaps be profitable to unite them, in which 

 case they should be removed at least a mile, and 

 remain three or four weeks. 



MARCH. 



By the first of this month all hives should be 

 actively engaged rearing young and collecting food 

 for their maintenance ; in fact, some hives will have 

 added largely to their members by this time, and 

 hives not now found to have brood should be con- 

 demned as queenless, and either broken up or a fer- 

 tile queen given to them ; using the precautions how- 

 ever, as given in Chapter xxvni, for Supplying 

 Queens. The queen in this case may be taken from 

 a hive, and a queen nursery formed for rearing others 

 to supply colonies, which may be formed as early as 

 the middle of this month, provided the drones have 

 made their appearance in considerable numbers. 



Then on the tenth day from forming the nursery, 

 take all the queen cells from the hive and return the 

 queen that was taken away. Give one of the cells 

 to the hive whence she was taken. The queen, 

 during her ten days' residence, will have supplied a 

 considerable amount of their comb with eggs, thus 

 affording them profitable employment in rearing the 

 young bees during the time that the young queen is 

 becoming fruitful. 



