THE COTTAGE AND FARM BEE KESPElt. 23 



is to be kept to another year,) and located the same evening on their 

 new stand,* at a distance of a foot and a half from the parent stock. 

 Should the season be at all propitious, this swarm ought to weigh from 

 60 to 90 lbs., at the end of eight weeks' time, and yield magnificent 

 swarms the following year. 



Should it be ascertained, however, that the age of the queen bee 

 does not exceed two full years, and it be thought desirable that she 

 should head the swarm, or if the swarm should issue after the 25th 

 of May, (in which case the prime swarm might be delayed too long 

 if the queen were destroyed,) when the bees have been quietly settled 

 a few minutes in their new or larger hive, let the old hive be removed 

 from its accustomed stand to some shady and remote part of the gar- 

 den till evening, it being there tied up, and its inhabitants kept prison- 

 ers until then. The new hive should now be put upon a suitable 

 board, and made to replace the old hive. The object of this proceeding 

 is the strengthening of the new swarm to its utmost extent, and the 

 prevention of casting. The former is not of so much importance the first 

 year as afterwards, when, the apiary having attained its full and intend- 

 ed size, or nearly so, these prime swarms are to he broken up in the au- 

 tumn, and spoiled of their contents. At present, the prime swarm, I shall 

 suppose, is intended to remain as a stock over the corning winter. The 

 plan to be pursued with a view to strengthen it, (and even when the hive 

 is to be kept, it may be strengthened with advantage,) is as follows : — 

 About an hour before dusk, the old hive is brought to the stand which it 

 is intended permanently to occupy ; here the bandage is loosened, when 

 a rush of the imprisoned bees will take place, eager to enjoy the pure 

 air after their confinement. Many of them, after a short flight, will 

 return, but, not a few, instead of flying back to their hive, will go to 

 their former well-known quarters, now occupied by the new swarm. 

 There finding their queen and friends, they will remain to increase 

 the strength of the new swarm, by the welcome addition of their 

 numbers. Nothing remains but to restore its hackle to the old hive, 

 and to give a milk pan to»the new one — this having aflat top, but not 

 so the other. The pan should be elevated an inch from the top of the 



* That is, if the swarm appears very strong;- otherwise, let it be treated according to the 

 directions given in the ensuing paragraph. 



