THE HON"EY-BEE. 209 



when natural swarms might be looked for. At that 

 time it is likely royal brood will be found in the 

 combs, or at all events, abundance of eggs and larvae 

 of workers, from which to rear an artificial queen, 

 and the males are also at this time numerous ; a 

 state of things indispensable to the success of artifi- 

 cial swarming. The mode of operation is various, 

 and has been described by almost every writer on 

 the subject of Bees. With common hives the pro- 

 cess is somewhat difficult, and not always successful. 

 The following experiments, however, will shew that 

 it is not impracticable. From the first to the third 

 week of June, our hives had all thrown their top or 

 prime swarms. But instead of sending off their 

 seconds, or casts, ten or twelve days thereafter, as 

 is generally the case, four of them had not swarmed 

 nearly three weeks beyond that period. This was 

 in all likelihood owing to an unfavourable change 

 of weather, which, by delaying the swarming, had 

 furnished the reigning queen with an opportunity 

 of putting to death her intended successors. In this 

 state of things, from the crowded condition of the 

 hives, a mass of bees as large as a man's head, hung 

 from the alighting-board of each, a grievous sight to 

 the apiarian, as these outliers are quite idle. We 

 resolved, therefore, to try artificial swarming with one 

 of these hives, and to regulate our proceedings with 

 regard to the others according to the issue of this. 

 Availing ourselves of the discoveries of Schirach and 

 Huber, we cut out of an other hive a piece of comb of 

 about 2 inches square, containing eggs and larvae of 



