338 MISCELLANEOUS. INFORMATION. [Ch. vi. 



space at the nick of time, before swarming mania seizes 

 them ; and when once they have taken to supers, I 

 keep an ample supply of space in advance of their 

 wants. 



" However hot the weather may become, they somehow 

 retire upstairs to this vacant room, and comb-building 

 there affords them employment, and they do not readily 

 think of swarming. For instance, in the beginning of 

 summer last year (1876), the season was so bad that at first 

 I gave them little room ; suddenly the weather became hot 

 and favourable, and one strong colony swarmed right off. 

 I excised the royal cells-and returned the bees ; no use — 

 off they came again in eight or ten days' time ; took the 

 hive to pieces, cut out all royal cells, and in addition, the 

 thought having occurred to me that maturing drone brood 

 was an accessory to swarming condition, I excised every 

 portion of that also. With seven supers (each four inches 

 deep) they rested content and kept to work most vigor- 

 ously, never attempting to swarm again." 



From this extract the practical bee-keeper may learn 

 much ; particularly as regards depriving the bees of 

 the inclination to swarm by cutting away the drone 

 brood. 



Perhaps we may here be allowed to advise the filling 

 up of vacancies where excision of drone comb is made 

 (whether with brood or without), by the insertion of clean 

 worker comb, in order to prevent the construction of the 

 former. 



