go We beekeepers' directory. 



ble in some apiaries, it is, as a rule, undesirable with a large ma- 

 jority of beekeepers. 



It is as natural for bees to swarm as it is for them to gather , 

 honey and store it in the combs. This fact must not be lost sight 

 of when we talk about "breeding out " the propensity to swarm. 

 However, it is an interesting point to discuss as to whether or not 

 in "breeding out" one quality some other quality would not be 

 destroyed at the same time. Certainly, we have a natural law to 

 contend with, and its effects to counteract. 



Two questions are suggested here. First, can swarming be 

 prevented? If so, how? Sometimes we see non-swarming hives 

 advertised.' The inventors claim that bees kept in them will not 

 swarm. That will prove true in some seasons, and the same 

 may be said of all styles of hives from the nail-cask to the latest 

 bee-hive devised. Yet the fact remains all the samethat a non- 

 swarming hive has not been invented by any one, nor is a strain 

 of non-swarming bees likely to put in an appearance just yet, 

 though several parties claim to have them. 



Recognizing the fact that the prevention of swarming is, beyond 

 the power of man to' control, let us consider and discuss the 

 different methods of managing bees when a swarm issues, and 

 how best to handle an apiary at swarming time, 



"Wing clipping. 



It is the practice of many beekeepers to clip off a portion of 

 one of the wings of the queen, intending thereby to prevent the 

 loss of swarms should any issue. S^ch an operation will, of 

 course, prevent any first swarms from decamping to the woods, 

 but that does not finish the work required to be done when a 

 colony swarms whose queen Is clipped. In fact, the labor inci- 

 dent to swarming by that method has just begun. When a swarm 

 issues, the queen, if clipped, will drop to the ground, and if the 

 hive is so arranged tl^at she can crawl back to it she will do so 

 and the bees will soon return. Now, any experienced beekeeper 

 must know that bees require attentiort again very soon ; as another 

 swarm, or rather the same one, will issue the next fair day and 

 will continue to do so unless the old queen is destroyed, or until 

 one of the young queens appear, when a swarm will come off and 

 will be pretty likely to go direct from the apiary to the place the 

 bees had previously selected for -a home. There is one way 

 that swarming a second time can be prevented and that is by re- 



