80 THE APIARY; OR, 



may be assisted — we say assisted, because artificial swarming should, 

 as nearly as possible, resemble natural swarming, that is, it should 

 be performed at the same time of the year, and when the populous 

 state of the hive makes a division desirable. This is easily known 

 to be the case when bees hang out in clusters at the entrance, 

 wasting their time in enforced idleness instead of being abroad 

 gathering honey. It is also necessary that the hive contain drones. 

 When such is the state of the hive, the facility of forming an arti- 

 ficial swarm with a moveable frame hive is a decided advantage. The 

 best time for performing the operation is about ten o'' clock in the 

 morning of a fine summer's day. The following directions should be 

 carried out : — place ready a counter or bench that is firm and strong, 

 and which has space on it for the inhabited— or rather the over- 

 inhabited — frame hive and the empty one, which is about to be 

 made the receptacle of a separate stock. The operator having on 

 bee-dress and the other appliances ready, may now open the hive as 

 before described, and proceed to take out the frames, carefully 

 examining both sides of each comb to fiud the queen : she is 

 generally in the centre of the hive, so that it is not always needful 

 to take out all the ten frames. As they are examined, the frames 

 may be put into the empty hive, and when the object of the bee- 

 master's search is found, he must carefully remove the frame 

 containing her majesty, and may place it temporarily in the empty 

 hive at one end by itself. Next he must proceed to put the frames 

 back into the old hive, closing up the vacancy caused by the removal 

 of the comb with the queen on it, and leave tlie empty frame at the 

 end. Then he may place the frame containing the queen — with the 

 few bees that may be upon it — in the centre of the empty hive ; 

 then putting all the other frames in, and replacing the lid, the bee- 

 master will place this hive in the exact position occupied by the old 

 stock. The bees that are on the wing will go to the old spot, and 

 finding the queen there, they will rally round her and very soon form 

 a sufficient number to constitute a swarm; comb building will at 

 once begin, the frames will in a week or so be filled, and a satis- 

 factory stock will thus be established. By doing this at the right 

 time, just before the bees are about to swarm, or when there are 

 many drones, all the trouble of watching and waiting for them is 

 Saved. Mr. "Woodbury claims the honour of having originated this 

 mode of artificial swarming; subsequently Mr. Langstroth and 



