1158 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



tracting or giving abundant room for the bees to work in. If 

 the bees will swarm, they may be hived with a colony which 

 previously swarmed a day or two before after we destroy 

 the queen cells of the latter. They are now just as strong, 

 and in nearly the same condition as before, except their home 

 and location are changed. This will usually stop all further 

 desire to swarm, and the bees will settle down to earnest work 

 in sections or frames. If they still are bent on a march, we can 

 cut this short surely by caging the queen and forming a nucleus 

 with her, which we place just above the old colony (Fig. 23). 

 As she fills the combs with eggs they can be exchanged for 

 empty combs from some needy nucleus or colony. In eight 

 days the queen cells in the old colony may be destroyed, and 

 the queen returned. The bees will have gone to work, and now 

 will think no more of migration. 



How TO ITALIANIZE. Italian bees are not only very superior 

 to black bees, but, as they are far more amiable, they are by 

 far the most desirable for the beginner. The new bees, Syrians 

 and Cyprians, introduced by Messrs. Jones and Benton, are in 

 some respects more valuable than are the Italians ; but their 

 irritability makes them less desirable than the Italians, espe- 

 cially to the novice. 



From what we have learned of the natural history of bees, 

 we see that to change our bees we have only to introduce a 

 new queen. The old bees soon die, and in three months during 

 summer every bee will be changed to the new race. 



To INTRODUCE A QUEEN. If we take out the old queen, then 

 keep the colony queenless for three days, after which we destroy 

 the queen cells, we may then let the new queen run right in at 

 the entrance, smoking the bees all the time. Mr. Henry Alley 

 says that by use of tobacco-smoke this can be made invariably 

 successful. If a very valuable queen is to be introduced it is best 

 to form a nucleus of all hatching brood with no bees. Put in the 

 queen, and shut up the hive. If this is done at dawn there 

 will be enough bees by night to protect the queen, even if the 

 night is a little chill, and soon we may have a strong colony by 

 adding enough brood. 



