188 To Prevent Swarming. 



colonies to swarm is implacable. Room, ventilation, changed 

 position of hive, each and all will fail. Then we can do no 

 better than to gratify the propensity by giving the swarm a 

 new home, and make an efiort 



TO PREVENT SECOND SWAEMS. 



As already stated, the wise apiarist will always have on 

 hand extra queens. Now, if he does not desire to form nuclei 

 (as already explained), and thus use these queen cells, he will 

 at once cut them all out, and destroy them, and give the old 

 colony a fertile queen. The method of introduction will be 

 given hereafter, though in such cases there is very little danger 

 incurred by giving them a queen at once, and by thoroughly 

 smoking the bees, sprinkling with sweetened water, and daub- 

 ing the new queen with honey, we may be almost sure of suc- 

 cess. If desired, the queen-ceUs can be used in forming nuclei, 

 in manner before described. In this way we prevent our 

 colony from being virtually queenless for at least thirteen 

 days, and that in the very height of the honey season, when 

 time is money. If extra queens are wanting, we have only to 

 look carefully through the old hive and remove all but one of 

 the queen-cells. A little care will certainly make sure work, 

 as after swarming, the old hive is so thinned of bees that only 

 carelessness will overlook queen-cells in such a quest. 



TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



As yet we can only partly avert swarming. Mr. Quinby 

 offered a large reward for a perfect non-swarming hive, and 

 never had to make the payment. Mr. Hazen attempted it, 

 and partially succeeded, by granting much space to the bees, 

 so that they should not be impelled to vacate for lack of room. 

 The Quinby hive already descrited, by the large capacity of 

 the brood-chamber, and ample opportunity for top and side- 

 storing, looks to the same end. Mr. Muth says if we always 

 have empty cells in the brood nest, swarming will seldom oc- 

 cur. Yet he says, ' ' seldom. " We may safely say that a per- 

 fect non-swarming hive or system is not yet before the bee- 

 keeping public. The best aids toward non-swarming are 

 shade, ventilation, and roomy hives. But as we shall see in 

 the sequel, much room in the brood-chamber, unless we work 

 for extracted honey — by which means we may greatly repress 



