distanee, ji pot ev(»ding you altogjetlier, you jmy bn^ ti down 

 by thrwiybg up sand or dust, which the bees mUJake W rain, pjt 

 by firing » gup, wiidcb they mistake for thunder ; hence the pld 

 &shion of the po»ntry-people fojlowjng » swarm with the PQis§ 

 of fire-shovels and frying- paiOS. You must be the more (^iligent 

 in at once securing your ^warm, for it is a fact that the b.eps send 

 out scouts previous to swarming, whose duty it is to se.lept a 

 proper habitation for the colony. It is, op this account, a good 

 plan, when you anticipate a swarm, to Ififtve an empty hive, pre- 

 viously smeared on the interior with hopey, ip some convenient 

 place, but not too near the old one. 



When the swarm settles, the bees collect themselves in a heap 

 round the queen, hapgit^ to each other ;by means of their feet. 

 When thus auspended from a tree, .they ipay be secured by sim- 

 ply holding an empty hive under them, and tapping the branch 

 from which they are suspended. They should, in this case, 

 be sprinkled with honey and water, and confined for about twelve 

 hoiArs. When a swarm divides into two or more bands, and 

 settle separately, it is proba>ble that there are two queens. In 

 this case you must secure one of them. 



Jf thiQugh your inattention, a second swarm comes off, you 

 should, as soon as you have hived it, secure its queen, and reiurn 

 the swarm to the hive ; indeed, when deprived of its queen, it 

 will usually immediately return of its own accord. Swarming is 

 a subject 1 have reason to believe is very generally misunderstood, 

 most persons desiring to promote jt, conceiving that the greater 

 number of swarms, the richer will the hives be in August. The 

 very reverse of this is the case ; for when a hive is weak in num- 

 bers, a sufficient number of bees cannot be spared to go forth for 

 honey ; and, hence, they will be scarcely able to collect enough 

 for their actual support, far less to collect any surplus for their 

 master's benefit. Hear Jilr. Briggs : — 



" The swarming of bees is .a subject on which much miscon- 

 ception prevails. Mosjt persQps who keep their beps in .the old 

 straw-hive plan, ,and .suffpeating system, appear to anticip^ate 

 th^r swarming with much anxiety, and to be of opinion that the 

 greater number of swarms — firsts, seconds, thirds, ice. — that they 

 O.btain|ropi their old hives during the summer, the more remu- 

 nerative will they prpve fo the owner at the end of the season ; 

 whereas ,the reverse of the above practice is much nearer of 

 being the best system to follow, which 1 shall endeavor to eluci- 



