42 



PRACTICAL BEE-KEEPING. 



found preferable to the one just noticed, for tlie owner may desire an early 

 and strong swarm, while his bees, although prospering, are hardly numerous 

 enough to supply him with one. In the morning of a day when the honey 

 gatherers are flying strongly, drum every inhabitant from the stock 

 selected to supply the swarm. Place this swarm on the stand of the 

 parent stock, and place the parent stock on the stand of a second hive, 

 removing the latter to a new position. AH the bees of the parent will 

 remain with the driven swarm. The bees in flight from the second stock 

 people the parent hive, feed the brood, maintain the heat, and raise a new 

 queen ; while in the second stock, the young bees not yet engaged in 

 honey gathering will be sufficient in numbers to carry on its work. This 

 method is suitable to frame hives as well as skeps ; if drumming be 

 replaced by shaking, as presently explained. Suppose a. beekeeper to 

 possess a Ligurian and a black stock, driving all the Ligurians, and 

 placing their hive upon the stand of the black stock, half the blacks become 

 nurses for raising a Ligurian queen, while the black stock will, in a few 

 days, be as strong as ever, and, at the expiration of ten days, may be 

 itself swarmed, when it will be placed on the stand then occupied by the 

 first parent stock referred to, which will in turn go to a new position. 

 To make the matter clear, let 1, 2, 3, 4, represent four stations, of which 

 2, 3 are occupied as below : 



12 3 4 



One great advantage of this arrangement is in this, that at the expira- 

 tion of ten days after the flrst swarming, the Ligurian stock on stand 3 

 will have flnished queen cells, only one of which will be required for itself, 

 a surplus one may then be cut out and given to the black stock, which 

 will in consequence have a breeding queen ten days earlier than if left 

 unhelped ; and, as in the early summer, 2000 eggs and even more are laid 

 daily, this would be equal to a swarm. The queen cells are generally upon 

 the lower edge of the comb, and may be easily taken out even of a skep by 



