Bee-keeping 241 



I had to stay at home once from the annual picnic 

 of the neighbourhood because I was ''such a 

 sight." Face all swelled up so at times, that my 

 own mother didn't know me. 



HIVING A **SWAEM'* 



I had robbed the hives — that is, I had extracted 

 the honey and put the comb back to be refilled and 

 had got through the stealing or robbing operation 

 fairly well, when, one day an over-crowded hive 

 decided to ''swarm." That means that the old 

 queen and her retainers were quitting the hive to 

 seek new quarters and thus allow the young queen 

 and brood room to work. I had talked with bee- 

 keepers in order to be prepared for such an emer- 

 gency. But there are no lessons learned from 

 books or talk, that quite take the place of learning 

 in the school of actual experience. That goes with 

 other affairs beside bee-keeping. 



TBOUSEES FULL OF BEES 



I came a-running to hive that swarm of bees. I 

 had on a veil, of course, and gloves fastened 

 tightly about my wrists. The swarm had left the 

 hive and were hanging clustered on the limb of a 

 nearby apple-tree. The air about was full of buzz- 

 ing bees and thousands had dropped off the clus- 

 ter to the ground. I had a big pail and as gently 

 as possible, I cut off the limb allowing the over- 

 flow to drop into the pail. For a time it looked 



