SPRING MANAGEMENT. 289 
of flying, merely for the sake of going with a 
swarm. Von Berlepsch, on the contrary, says that 
a swarm is made up of all the adult bees which are at 
home at the time of starting, and sometimes this is 
equivalent to all the adults in the stock—none but 
nurse bees being found to be left. Several hun- 
dreds of drones accompany the emigrants. It is not 
always an easy matter to estimate the strength of a 
swarm. The bulk is not entirely a criterion, as the 
temperature of the weather causes the bees to 
cluster together more or less closely. A pint will 
usually contain about 2000, while 5600 are estimated 
to weigh a pound; but this latter varies, for on 
swarming they are always provident enough to load 
themselves more or less with honey before their 
departure, so that the pound would be fully made up 
by 4000. A good swarm, however, ought to weigh 
from three to five pounds, and if it attains to six it 
will, according to a series of careful experiments by 
Von Berlepsch, be more productive than any other 
weight either smaller or larger. As to a_ settled 
colony, he says, there seems no upper limit—‘ the 
more bees the better.” 
Returning of Swarms.—Cases sometimes occur in 
which it is thought desirable to compel the return 
of a swarm to the stock-hive. On this subject we 
will use the words of Payne. ‘‘ The process,” says 
he, “is very simple, and I have always found it 
succeed. As soon as the swarm is settled in the 
hive, turn it bottom upwards, and, if the queen bee 
does not make her appearance in a few seconds, 
dash the bees out upon a cloth, or a gravel walk, 
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