ROBBBBIES. 163 



HO NECESSITY TO HAVE THE BEES PLUNDEKED IN THE FALL, 



The apiarian having his bees plundered in the fall, 

 is not fit to have charge of them ; their efforts are 

 seldom as strong as in spring, (unless there is a general 

 scarcity,) the weak hives are usually better supplied 

 with bees, and consequently a less number is exposed ; 

 but yet, when there are some very weak families, 

 these should be taken away as soon as the flowers fail, 

 or strengthened with bees from another hive. Par- 

 ticulars in fall management. 



I have sometimes made my swarms equal, early in 

 spring, by the following method, and I have also 

 failed. Bees, when wintered together, in a room, will 

 seldom quarrel when first set out. When one stock 

 has an over supply of bees, and another a very few, the 

 next day or two after being out, I change the weak 

 one to the stand of the strong one, (as mentioned a 

 page or two back,-) and all bees that have marked the 

 location return to that place. The failure is, when too 

 many leave the strong stock, making that the weak 

 one, when nothing is gained. If it could be done 

 when they had been out of the house just long enough 

 for the proper number to have marked the location, 

 success would be quite certain. But before an ex- 

 change of this kind is made, it would be well, if pos- 

 sible, to ascertain what is the cause of a stock being 

 weak; if it is from the loss of a queen, (which is 

 sometimes the .case,) we only make the matter worse 

 by the operation. To ascertain whether the qUeen be 

 present, do not depend ^n the bees carrying in pollen ; 



