200 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



not guard against robbing, will seriously impair the value 

 of his stocks, and entail upon himself much useless and 

 vexatious labor. Beware of demoralizing bees, by tempt- 

 ing them to rob each other ! 



In an Apiary where hives very unlike in size, shape, 

 and color, are crowded together, artificial operations will 

 often be exceedingly hazardous, as the bees will be con- 

 tinually liable to enter the wrong hives. If the stocks 

 must be kept very close together, even if the hives are ah 1 

 of the same color and pattern, it will be best to carry 

 to a second Apiary, either the forced swarms, or the 

 mother-stocks from which they were made. 



The bee-keeper has already been reminded that caution 

 is needed in giving to bees a stranger-queen. Huber thus 

 describes the way in which a new queen is usually re- 

 ceived by a hive : 



" If another queen is introduced into the hive within 

 twelve hours after the removal of the reigning one, they 

 surround, seize, and keep her a very long time captive, in 

 an impenetrable cluster, and she commonly dies either 

 from hunger or want of air. If eighteen hours elapse 

 before the substitution of a stranger-queen, she is treated, 

 at first, in the same way, but the bees leave her sooner, 

 nor is the surrounding cluster so close ; they gradually 

 disperse, and the queen is at last liberated ; she moves 

 languidly, and sometimes expires in a few minutes. Some, 

 however, escape in good health, and afterwards reign in 

 the hive. If twenty-four hours elapse before substituting 

 the stranger-queen, she will be weU received, from the 

 moment of her introduction. 



" Reaumur affirms, that, shoufd the original queen be 

 removed, and another introduced, this new one will be 

 perfectly well received from the beginning * * * He in- 



