ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 125 



aside, is sufficient to convince every earnest bee-keeper of 

 the folly of waiting or watcliing day by day for swarms 

 coming, off naturally. 



But the reader may say, " I am timid, and can't believe 

 that I could manage to swarm my bees." A great Ameri- 

 can once said : " I can't do it never did anything ; Til try 

 has performed wonders ; but I will do it has performed 

 prodigies." The reader must allow nje to tell him that he 

 can swarm his bees artificially if he wills to do it ; and 

 what now appear wonders and prodigies in the manage- 

 ment of bees, will by-and-by be felt in his hands to be as 

 simple as taking a draught of water. 



But suppose the reader adopts this art of swarming, 

 how is he to know when his hives are ready for swarming, 

 and what size of swarms to take when they are ready ? 

 These questions are important. A little experience will 

 give more instruction than our pen can. Of course when 

 bees begin to cluster at their doors they are ready for 

 swarming. Large hives seldom cluster before swarming, ; 

 and small ones almost always do. But by using the 

 smoke of fustian we can ascertain when hives are ready 

 for swarming — ^that is to say, full enough for swarming. 

 When smoke is blown into a hive the bees run up 

 amongst the combs, and if the hive is lifted off the board 

 there will be but a thin sprinkling left on it. When 

 they can so run up amongst the combs the hive is not full 

 — not ready to swaim. But when it is ready, the hive is 

 full of bees, so that the smoke drives them from the door, 

 but not up amongst the combs, which are already weU 

 packed. WeU, on lifting this hive there will be a rope or 

 ring of bees on the board about as thick as a man's wrist. 

 The smoke has driven them from the door as far as they 

 can get, and when the hive is lifted, the bees of this rope 

 begin to run over the edges of the board, so that, when 



