SURPLUS QUEENS. 131 



in bees, hardly feeling the loss of those taken from them. 

 Let me hy figures show how this is done. 



At the commencement of the season let us suppose we 

 have two stock-hives — standing at 2 and 6. When the 

 swarms are taken from them they are moved to 3 and 5, 

 and the swarms to 1 and 7. 2 and 6 are blotted out al- 

 together, and 4 remains unoccupied. And suppose we 

 want one swarm more from the two old stocks. Part 

 of a swarm is taken from each and set at 4, removing the 

 old ones back to their original stands, 2 and 6, leaving 3 

 and 5 empty. If it be deemed advisable to take a second 

 swarm from each, and keep them separate, their positions 

 will have to be arranged a little differently. 



In the case of second swarms, we can tell pretty cer- 

 tainly the day on which they will swarm naturally, if we 

 listen for the queens commencing to call. They almost 

 invariably call or pipe for three nights, and swarm on 

 the day following : there are some hives which do not 

 send off second swarms till their queens have called for 

 four or five nights, and even longer, but these are excep- 

 tional, and no one can tell why such hives are so slow to 

 swarm. 



SURPLUS QUEENS. 



ITow we come to notice the uses of these surplus queens. 

 By using them aright, the bee-keeper does exercise some 

 master-strokes of policy and good management. They will 

 be welcomed into hives without queens, and into hives 



