44 A Modern Bee-Farm 
certain by first capturing the queen and secure her in a 
cage fastened under the edge of the skep when placed on 
the ground: in this case if only a handful of bees can first 
be brushed into the skep, all the rest will follow. On no 
account, in any instance, expect the bees will go up of 
their own accord into a hive placed above the cluster ; it 
will only cause waste of time and disappointment ; it has 
to be done, therefore carry the thing through at once. 
Many bees will continue to return to the clustering place, 
unless it is well damped with water. 
‘ 
Hatching of the Young Queens. 
In about nine days from the issue of the first swarm, 
one of the young queens bites her way out of the cell, 
leaving the cap hanging attached at a part of its edge; 
this covering will sometimes get back into the original 
place and be again sealed by the bees, and should a 
worker be in, clearing out the residue of food at the time, 
its fate is sealed in a double sense. Such. occurrences, 
simple to a careful observer, have at times given rise to 
unfounded theories; but at the same time it shows how 
it is quite possible to leave a useless queen cell in the hive 
when cutting out all but one to prevent after-swarming ; 
a wanton waste of time, by the way, which cannot be 
tolerated in a modern apiary. 
The young queens may be ready to hatch, they may 
even bite all round the covering of their cells, and yet not 
be allowed to leave them, should the weather be unsuitable 
for swarming, so that when the favorable moment comes 
several leave their cradles at the same time, and are quite 
ready for flight, but as a rule the first hatched young 
queen leads off,-or rather goes with the second swarm ; 
though the after, and sometimes even the second swarm, 
is accompanied by more than one virgin queen. Though 
