180 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



important discoveries remain to be made. On the con- 

 trary, I should be glad if those who have time and means 

 would experiment on a large scale with the movable-comb 

 hives ; and I hope that every intelligent bee-keeper who 

 uses them, will experiment at least on a small scale. In 

 this way, we may hope that those points in the natural 

 history of the bee still involved in doubt, will, ere long, 

 be satisfactorily explained. 



The practical bee-keeper should remember that the less 

 he disturbs the stocks on ichich he relies for surplus honey , 

 the better. Their hives ought not to be needlessly opened, 

 and the bees should never be so much interfered with, as 

 to feel that they hold their possessions by an uncertain 

 tenure ; as such an impression will often impair their zeal 

 for accumulation.* The object of giving the control over 

 every comb in the hive, is not to enable the bee-keeper to 

 be incessantly taking them in and out, and subjecting the 

 bees to all sorts of annoyances. Unless he is conducting 

 a course of experiments, such interference will be almost 

 as silly as the conduct of children who dig up the seeds 

 they have planted, to see how much they have grown. 



Having described how forced swarms are made, both 

 in common and movable-comb hives, when the Apiarian 

 wishes in one season to double his colonies, I shall now 

 show how he can secure the largest yield of honey, by 

 forming only one new colony from two old ones. 



When it is time to form artificial colonies, drum a 

 strong stock which call A so as to secure all its bees, 

 and put the forced swarm on the old stand. If any bees 

 are abroad when this is done, they will join this new 

 colony. Remove to a new stand in the Apiary a second 

 strong stock which call-J5 and put A in its place. 



* These remarks apply more particularly to stocks engaged in storing honey in 

 receptacles not in the main hive. The experience of Dzierzon and myself, shows 

 that opening the hives, ordinarily interrupts their labors for only a few minutes. 



