32 PLEASUBABLE BEE-KEEPING. 



hot day occasionally take flight and may be lost to 

 the bee-keeper. 



In hiving swarms it is of the utmost importance 

 that the skep should not be left in the rays of the 

 sun, or the great heat may cause the bees to leave 

 their temporary home. If the swarm must remain 

 for some time where it has been hived, and cannot 

 be placed in the shade, a white sheet should be thrown 

 over the skep, except on the shady side where the bees 

 enter. 



It is also advisable, supposing the swarm to settle 

 half a mile, more or less, away from the apiary, to 

 bring it home as soon as the bees have become settled 

 in the skep ; for as soon as clustering is completed 

 the bees will be busy for the rest of the day, going to 

 and fro in search of nectar, and the following morning 

 after their first journey to the fields they will return 

 to the spot they had become accustomed to the 

 previous day. If, however, the hive had been taken 

 home the previous night many bees would be lost ; 

 and the loss might be great, in case a storm came on 

 while they were clustering on the ground, where the 

 skep had been placed the day before. 



Casts. 



" A swarm of bees in May 

 Is worth a load of hay : 

 A swarm of bees in June 

 Is worth a silver spoon ; 

 A swarm of bees in July 

 Is not worth a fly." 



The above familiar rhyme will be admitted by most 



