ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 227 



the new colony will soon be one of the best stock hives in 

 the Apiary. If some of the full frames are moved, and 

 empty ones placed between them, as soon as the bees begin 

 to build powerfully, ihere need be no guide combs on the 

 empty frames, and still the vyork vfill be executed with the 

 most beautiful regularity. 



But what, in the mean time, is the condition of the hives 

 from which we are taking so many brood combs for the 

 proper development of our nuclei ; are they not weakened 

 so much as to become quite enfeebled ? I come now to 

 the very turning point of the whole nucleus system. If due 

 judgment has not been used, and the sanguine bee-keeper 

 has endeavored to multiply his colonies too rapidly, a most 

 grievous disappointment awaits him. Either his nuclei can- 

 not be strengthened at the right time, or this can be done, 

 only by impoverishing the old stocks, and the result of the' 

 whole operation will be a most decided failure, and if he is 

 in the vicinity of sugar-houses, confectionaries, or other 

 tempting places of bee resort, he will find the population of 

 his colonies very seriously diminished, and will have to 

 break up the most of the nuclei which he had formed, and 

 incur the danger of losing nearly the whole of his stock. I 

 lay it down as a fundamental principle in my nucleus sys- 

 tem, that the old stocks must never be so much weakened 

 by the removal of brood-comb and bees that they are not 

 able to keep their numbers sufficiently strong to refill rapidly 

 all the vacancies among their combs. If the Apiarian at- 

 tempts to multiply his stocks so rapidly that this cannot be 

 done, I will ensure him ample cause to repent at leisure of 

 his folly. If however, the attempt at very rapid multiplica- 

 tion is made only by those who are favorably situated, and 

 who have skill in the management of bees, a very large 

 gain may be made in the number of stocks, and they may 

 all be strong and flourishing. 



