MANAGEMENT OF OUT-APIAEIES 



23 



found in very many of the colonies, and answers the purpose just as well, 

 I am constantly on the lookout for such during the' time 1 am "swarming" 

 the colonies. 



Returning to No. 1 the bees that still adhere to the empty hive and 

 bottom-board are dislodged, so as to fall with the rest of the "shook" colo- 

 ny, when the hive and bottom-board are carried to No. 2, which is to go 

 through the same process as has No. 1, and so on till the whole 13 have 

 all been "swarmed," which takes far less time for each one than the telling 

 how it is done. 



By this plan I do not have to look for the queen nor overhaul the 

 combs, nor by any other plan look for queen-cells, as is generally the 

 case with most of the other ways of artificial swarming. In all the other 



SHAKING THE BEES IN ERONT OF THE HIVE. 



plans of "shook" swarming it is recommended to wait about the "swarming" 

 till queen-cells are sealed, or have eggs or larvae in them. In my practice 

 I have found that this is all a myth, and it is also something that is not 

 applicable to the work in an out-apiary, with only a few visits to the same 

 each year. Yea, furttier: I find it an absolute detriment to have the bees 

 prepare to swarm before this "shook swarming" is done. About the mid- 

 dle of June, 1906, I was taken sick, as before spoken of, so that only 

 about half of the "swarming" was done at the time it should have been, 

 the rest of the colonies being left till nearly July before I was able to 

 finish. During this time more than half of those not "swarmed" contracted 

 the swarming fever, built queen-cells, and swarmed; but as the queen's 

 wings were clipped they could not get away. This was the condition I 

 found them in when I was able to get to the out-apiary to finish the swarm- 

 ing that year. Now for the result: The queen in such colonies that, had 



