124 STORIFYING AND SINGLE-HIVING. 



independently of the loss of time to the bees, a 

 constant system of watchfulness must be kept up 

 by the proprietor, during the whole period of the 

 bees clustering out, otherwise a swarm may be 

 lost. 



Storifying, though generally, is not invariably 

 successful in causing the clustered bees to re- 

 enter the boxes : where it fails to do so, if a 

 young queen were ready to assume the sove- 

 reignty of the colony, the clustered bees would 

 swarm and seek a new habitation with the old 

 one. M. Reaumur drowned several hives thus 

 circumstanced, and examined all their inmates 

 most minutely, but could never find more than a 

 single queen, and this the old one ; in none of 

 these hives did he find royal larvae. 



KEYS says that he has failed to make the 

 clustered bees rejoin the family, if he has put the 

 empty hive or box over the colony ; but that by 

 placing the box under it, the bees soon re-entered 

 and worked vigorously. I have myself, in several 

 instances, noticed the reluctance of bees to ascend ; 

 this reluctance will however generally give way 

 in a day or two, if no room be allowed them in 

 any other direction. This is proved by the suc- 

 cessful use of small glasses upon flat-topped hives 

 or boxes, for obtaining fresh honey occasionally. 

 THORLEY constantly practised super-hiving, and 

 was very successful with it. So likewise is my 



