Handtei/'s Letter to Earl Spencer, 181 



Heat and want of room may induce swarming, if there be 

 more than one mother-bee in a hive ; but not otherwise. In the 

 former case, the mother-bees will always fight, till one is compelled 

 to quit the hive. The mother, or queen, bee who retires will always 

 be followed by a number of others; and this constitutes a swarm. 

 It is, in fact, a provision of nature for the multiplication of the 

 species. Hence, there is no other way to prevent swarming, 

 but the destruction of the rival queen. This cannot be done 

 without much trouble, and considerable injury to the bees, 

 however easy it may appear to some, who, probably, have never 

 tried the experiment. The worst part is, that the pi'ocess must 

 be repeated ; for, in the breeding season, there are mother-bees 

 in different stages of existence, and some in the larva state, 

 which cannot be detected. 



Another suggestion has been made, to destroy the queen-bee 

 out of a swarm, and then replace the bees in the hive. But 

 here the same inconvenience recurs ; for, if there should remain 

 another superfluous queen in the hive, they would speedily 

 swarm again, as I have found by experience. Unpleasant as it 

 is to have a hive weakened by swarming, there is, I fear, no 

 possibility of preventing it, while there remains more than one 

 mother-bee in the hive. However wide a space might be 

 assigned to them, the mother-bees will always attack one another. 

 If two are imprisoned together, they will fight. Apiarians have 

 said many fine things about the queen-bee and her royal govern- 

 ment; but the simple truth is, that she is the parent, or mother, 

 of the young progeny. Of this I had myself some doubt, till 

 I observed the mother-bee laying an egg in several of the cells 

 in the month of June last. This, therefore, being a provision 

 of nature to continue the species, there can be no successful 

 scheme to prevent swarming, and to attempt it is mere folly. 



Cossey Hall Gardens, Jan. 20. 1838. 



REVIEWS. 



Art. I. Catalogue of Worhs on Gardening, Agriculture, Botany, 

 Rural Architecture, S^c, lately published, tvith some Account of those 

 considered the more interesting. 



A Letter to Earl Spencer (President of the Smithfield Club), on 

 the Formation of a National Agricultural Institidion. By 

 Henry Handley, Esq., M. P. Pamph. 8vo, pp. 36. London, 

 1838. 



The perusal of this pamphlet shows the author to be familiar 

 with all the modern agricultural improvements, not only in 



N 3 



