ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 189 



blows, letting the drumming be continuous, but not 

 violent. The bees, already terrified by the smoke 

 blown amongst them, will in the course of a few 

 minutes begin to run into the upper hive, and a 

 large enough proportion, together with the queen, 

 will have gone up within ten minutes or a quarter of 

 an hour. Their passage up may be ascertained by 

 the buzzing sound of the multitude of vibrating 

 wings ; and when this has subsided the cloth may 

 be taken away, and a large cluster of the driven 

 insects will be found in the top hive. This should 

 then be placed on the stand from which the stock 

 was taken, so as to be reinforced by many of the 

 population who were abroad for supplies. If it is 

 intended to transfer the new colony to a bar-frame 

 hive, they can be introduced either by being shaken 

 on to the tops of the frames, to run down between, 

 or thrown on a sheet in front of the bar-frame hive, 

 which should be slightly propped up, as already 

 described in speaking of natural swarms thus put 

 into wooden hives. The old stock, containing much 

 brood and a fair residue of bees, may be placed at 

 a short distance from its former stand. It will be 

 sure to have an attraction for many of the adults of 

 its population so unceremoniously ejected, and some 

 of the most recently hatched will have refused to 

 quit it. These combined forces will suffice to tend 

 the brood ; and in a few weeks, with a young queen, 

 the tenants will be almost as numerous as before the 

 driving took place. 



Open driving is performed in a similar way, except 

 that the hive, into which the bees are to be made 

 to ascend, is placed over the other at an angle, and 



