SWARMING AND HIVING. 163 



seemed to me, useless, and often positively injurious. There 

 ought always to be some small trees near the hives, on 

 which the swarms can cluster, and from vifhich they can be 

 easily gathered. If there are none, limbs of trees about 

 six feet high, (evergreens are best,) may be fastened into the 

 ground, a few rods in front of the hives, and they will an- 

 swer a very good temporary purpose. It will inspire the 

 inexperienced Apiarian with much greater confidence, to 

 remember that almost all the bees in a swarm, have filled 

 themselves with honey, before leaving the parent stock, 

 and are therefore in a very peaceable mood. If he is at 

 all timid, or liable, as some are, to suffer severely from the 

 sting of a single bee, ha should, by all means, furnish him- 

 self with the protection of a bee-dress. (See Bee-Dress.) 



I shall, in another place, give the best remedies for the 

 relief of a sting. As soon as the bees have quietly clus- 

 tered around their queen, preparation should be made to 

 hive them without any unnecessary delay. The headlong 

 haste of some Apiarians, which, by throwing them into a 

 profuse perspiration, renders them very liable to be stung, is 

 altogether unnecessary. The very fact that the bees have 

 clustered, after leaving the parent stock, is almost equiva- 

 lent to a certainty that they will not leave, for at least one 

 or two hours. All convenient despatch should be used, 

 however, lest other colonies issue before the first one is 

 hived, and attempt to add themselves, as they frequently do, 

 to the first swarm. The proper course to be pursued, in 

 such a case, will be subsequently explained. If my hives 

 are used, the entrance on the whole front must be opened, 

 so that the bees may have every chance to enter as rapidly 

 as possible ; and a sheet must be fastened to the alighting- 

 board,- to keep the bees from being separated from each 

 other or soiled by dirt, for a bee thoroughly covered with 



