The Life of the Bee 



further, the long sterile interregnum be- 

 tween the date of the first swarm and the 

 impregnation of the second queen, etc., 

 etc. 



Of these faults the gravest, the only 

 one which in our climates is invariably- 

 fatal, is the repeated swarming. But here 

 we must bear in mind that the natural 

 selection of the domestic bee has tor 

 thousands of years been thwarted by man. 

 From the Egyptian of the time of Pha- 

 raoh to the peasant of our own day, the 

 bee-keeper has always acted in opposition 

 to the desires and advantages of the race. 

 The most prosperous hives are those 

 which throw only one swarm after the 

 beginning of summer. They have ful- 

 filled their maternal duties, assured the 

 maintenance of the stock and the neces- 

 sary renewal of queens ; they have guar- 

 anteed the future of the swarm, which, 

 being precocious and ample in numbers, 



408 



