SWARMING. 119 



gust. It seldom happens before ten in the morn- 

 ing, nor later than three in the afternoon, and 

 never but in fine weather. If it be sultry, bees 

 are apt to rise after a storm, being anxious to 

 escape from the heat of the hive, rendered more 

 intolerable by the confinement which the storm 

 has occasioned. In the sixth volume of the Philo- 

 sophical Transactions, an instance is recorded by 

 RICHARD REED, Esq. of Lugwardine, of a swarm 

 issuing on the 9th of March ; as he supposed, in 

 consequence of there being an insufficient supply 

 of food for the whole family, a part were sent forth 

 to seek their fortunes, lest the whole should perish. 

 The day, he says, was fine, but does not mention 

 the temperature. Probably this was a stock which 

 had bred in the month of February, the swarm 

 issuing from the usual cause, a disproportion 

 between the size of the family and the size of the 

 habitation. 



If early swarming be desired, early breeding 

 must be promoted, by feeding with sugared or 

 honeyed ale in February and March, and by keeping 

 the stock warm. And if the apiarian at any time 

 wish to obtain a swarm, he has only to withhold 

 from his bees that accommodation which storify- 

 ing affords them. 



The most advantageous time for a swarm to be 

 thrown off is from the middle of May to the mid- 

 dle of June. This period comprehends the grand 



