ARTIFICIAL SWARltS. 2.J7 



lieve is entirely origiaal : the importance of wliicli Ibe 

 reader can judge. 



ADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD. 



It is very plain that a queen from such finished cell 

 must be ready to deposit eggs several days sooner 

 than by any other method that we can adopt. It is 

 also clear that if we have a dozen queens depositing 

 eggs by the 10th of June, that our bees are increasing 

 faster, on the whole, than if but half that number are 

 engaged in it for a month later. There is yet another 

 advantage. The sooner a young queen can take the 

 place of the old one in maternal duties, the less time 

 will be lost in breeding, the more bees there will be 

 to defend the combs from the moth, and the. surest 

 gu^aranty for surplus honey. 



"When the bees have filled their sacks, proceed to 

 drive them into the upper hive by striking the lower 

 one rapidly from five to ten minutes. A loud hum- 

 ming will mark their first movement. When you 

 think half or two-thirds are out, raise the hive and 

 inspect progress. They are not at all disposed to 

 sting in this stage of pjoceeding, even when they 

 escape outside. If full of honey, they are seldom pro- 

 voked to resentment. The only care will be not to 

 crush too many that get between the edges of the 

 hives. The loud buzzing is no sign of anger. If your 

 swarm is not large enough, continue to drive till it 

 is. When done, the new hive should be set on the 

 stand, of Ijie old one. A i f§yy . minutes will decide 

 wi^ether you ha^ye tlie queen with the swarm, as they 



