162 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



labors of the hive. The imprisoned bees ought to be 

 supplied with water, to enable them to prepare food for 

 the larvae. In the common hive this may be injected with 

 a straw through a gimlet-hole. 



Where artificial swarming is practiced on a large scale, 

 I have devised a plan which I very much prefer to any pre- 

 viously described. Let the Apiarian obtain a forced swarm* 

 from some bee-keeper, a mile or two off, or from one of 

 his own stocks, carried that distance before the bees began 

 to work in the Spring. Bringing it home, according to 

 the directions subsequently given for transporting bees, 

 let it be confined in a cool place, so as to have plenty of 

 air. Late in the afternoon, or early next morning, let him 

 force four or fivef swarms, placing them, at once, on the 

 stands of the parent-stocks, and these latter where it is in- 

 tended they shall permanently remain. The forced swarm, 

 brought from a distance, should now be shaken out on a 

 sheet, a foot or more from a hive, and gently sprinkled, so 

 as to prevent any bees from taking wing. With a saucer, 

 scoop up, without hurting any of them, as many bees as 

 you can, and carry them to the mouth of one of the old 

 stocks, from which you have driven a swarm. Continue 

 to do this, until you have about equally apportioned the 

 bees, and if any remain on the sheet, carry it to the mouth 

 of the hive which has received the least.J These bees, 

 having no previous home in your Apiary, will adhere to 

 the different hives in which they are placed, and thus, 



* If he delays artificial swarming until natural swarms begin to issue, he may 

 use them in the same way. 



t An expert will force them all in the time usually taken by a novice to force 

 one. As soon as a forcing-box is placed over one hive, he will remove another 

 from its stand, and then the rest, and in drumming them will pass from one to 

 another, so as to lose not a moment's time in the whole operation. Ten artificial 

 swarms, or even more, may be made, in this way, in less than an hour after sun- 

 rise or before sunset. 



J The queen should be looked for, and the hive noted to which she is given. 1 1 

 she has entered the empty hive, she may be easily secured. 



