SWARMING AND HIVING. 59 



except a ^■ely few that may be flying in the air (and 

 tliese will return to the old hive,) in this wa)- get- 

 ting them all into the hive, and immediately carry- 

 ing it to the stand it was to occupy, covering it with 

 a board to shade it from the hot rays of the sun, or 

 placing it in the shade of a tree — he would have 

 saved his bees, the damage to his pear tree, and 

 much perplexity. 



By the old methods of managing bees, there was 

 no means of knowing when to expect swarms ; cbn- 

 sequentlv the bees were sometimes watched all 

 summer, in expectation of swarms any pleasant 

 day, as outside indications were favorable for them ; 

 yet they would often adhere to the old hive through- 

 out the entire summer. 



With, the Controllable Hive and New System of 

 Bee Management, as shown in this work, swarm- 

 ing is brought completely under the control of the 

 bee keeper. It is 'well for him to understand cor- 

 rectly what are the requisites and preparations for 

 natural swarming by the bees, when left to them- 

 seh-es in a natural state. They are as follows : 

 The bees must be obtaining honey freely, either 

 from flowers, or from feed supjilied them. The 

 • combs must be filled with brood in all stages of 

 growth, from the egg just deposited in the cell, to 

 the perfect bee just emerging. (And from this, 

 bee keepers will note what conditions are required 

 at the time swarms are forced, as recommended in 

 my plan.) When this condition of affairs is 

 reached, the bees construct queen cells, (that is if 

 they decide to swarm ; they will do as they like 



