ADVICE TO THE YOUNG APIARIAN. 297 



especially of the prolific state of the queen. If the 

 examination take place previously to the swarming 

 season, pay particular attention to the number of 

 drones ; this is an infallible criterion of the popu- 

 lousness of the hive, and the purchaser may then 

 confidently look forward to the possession of the 

 usual swarms. 



" If, on the other hand, the examination take 

 place in the autumn, the previous massacre of the 

 drones must be ascertained ; the omission of this 

 act, on the part of the bees, is a certain sign of 

 some radical defect, most probably on the part of 

 the queen, and the prospect of the bees surviving 

 the winter becomes thereby highly problematical. 

 If the bees appear irascible and bold in their attacks 

 on their enemies, particularly the wasp, it is a good 

 sign of their condition ; if on their return from the 

 fields their bodies appear cylindrical, it is certain 

 proof that the bees are busy in the collection of 

 honey, and, consequently, a good estimate may be 

 formed of the interior richness of the hive. In 

 regard to the exterior of the hive, on no account 

 select one which is old and decayed, as such hives 

 are always infested with vermin. No prudent apia- 

 rian will ever put a swarm into an old hive, and in 

 this respect it must be admitted, that in a great 

 degree the most culpable carelessness exists on the 

 part of the cottagers, who, perhaps from a principle 

 of false economy, put their swarms into old and 

 rotten hives, rather than be at the expense of pur- 

 chasing new ones. A new hive to every swarm 

 ought to be the leading principle of every keeper 

 o5 



