EOBBINft. 115 



by worms, and us.ually following some preceding weakness 

 of the colony. Not one strong colony in a huodred will 

 be attacked and plundered at the first onset. 



DIFFICULTY IN DECIDING. 



Probably but few bee-keepers are able to decide at once 

 whe7i bees are robbing. It requires the closest scrutiny to 

 decide. There is nothing about the apiary more difficult 

 to determine ; nothing in which one is more likely to be 

 deceived. It is generally supposed, when a number are 

 fighting outside, that it is conclusive that they are also 

 robbing, which is seldom the case. On the contrary, a 

 show of resistance indicates a strong colony, and that they 

 are disposed to defend their treasures. A very weak 

 colony of Italians will often make a spirited resistance. I 

 have no fears for a stock that has courage to repel an 

 attack. The greatest danger is with those weak colonies 

 incapable of opposition. In seasons of scarcity, all good 

 stocks maintain sentinels about the entrance, whose duty 

 it appears to be to examine every bee that attempts to 

 enter. K it is a member of the community, it is allowed 

 to pass ; if not, it is arrested on the spot. It would seem 

 that a password was requisite for admittance, for no soon- 

 er does a stranger endeavor to enter, than it is known. 

 The absence of proper credentials is evidence enough to 

 convict it. Each bee is a qualified jurist, judge, and exe- 

 cutioner. There is no delay, no waiting for witnesses for 

 the defence. The more a bee attempts to escape, unless it 

 is by chance successful, the more certain is the execution 

 of the sentence. How strange bees are known to be such, 

 is yet undetermined, probably by the scent. 



WEAK COIiONIES IN DANGER. 



It is the duty of every bee-keeper who expects to suc- 

 ceed, to know which his weak stocks are. An examina- 



