ARTIFICIAL SWAEMING 187 



from that of A and uncover the holes in the bottom- 

 board of (7, so that the bees may pass from A to C. A 

 number of the young bees, as they go out to work, will 

 use the upper entrance, so that when a colony is driven 

 from -.4., and the mother-stock is put in place of (7, it will 

 have the requisite number of adhering bees : the forced 

 swarm being put into (7, and taking the stand of A, will 

 secure, as it ought, the -most of the mature bees. In a 

 few days, the upper hive may be set down close to the 

 other, and gradually removed to any convenient distance, 

 and its entrance made to face in any direction. The same 

 process may be repeated, at intervals, with the mother- 

 stock, until as many new colonies are formed as may be 

 desired.* If the Apiarian does not aim at a very rapid 

 increase, he can take from the mother-stock, in forcing it, 

 two or three of its combs which are best filled with 

 sealed brood, so that the artificial swarm will have recruits 

 before its new brood matures. 



If the new colony is forced by removing the frames 

 (p. 165), the bees may be shaken on a sheet directly in 

 front of A, and allowed to enter it again; the combs 

 being all transferred to (7, unless the bee-keeper wishes 

 to return a few to the parent-stock. 



With a fertile queen, a new colony may be formed by 

 simply reversing the positions of A and (7, when the bees 

 are in full flight ; and after the lapse of a few days, if C 

 is weaker than A, the position of the colonies may be 

 again reversed : or A and G may be reversed, end for 

 end, without lifting one from the other ; or the comb 

 containing the queen may be left in A, and the others 



* I find, by referring to my Journal, that I devised this method in the Summer 

 of 1854, when using frames in hives which, like Dzierzon's, opened at both end*. 

 I soon ascertained that such hives even with my frames did not give suitable 

 fecilities for managing bees. 



