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spreading should be discontinued when section crates are on 
(110). 
XI. NATURAL SWARMING. 
Natural swarming and its cause has been shortly referred to 
(11). The subject will now be dealt with 
91. Natural Swarming. in its relation to profitable bee-keeping. 
Except when the bee-keeper desires to in- 
crease his stocks or to provide swarms for sale, swarming should 
be prevented as far as possible. The beginner will, as a rule, 
desire to increase his stocks moderately, and therefore will not 
object to having a few swarms; but when the production of 
honey is the main object in view, swarming must, so far as 
possible, be kept down. 
Amongst the signs that swarming may shortly be expected are 
the following :—Bees ceasing to bring in 
92. Signs of pollen, and clustering listlessly about the 
Swarming. hive entrance while other stocks are at 
work; a marked increase in the number of 
drones on the wing on the morning of or a few hours before 
swarming, these drones dashing about excitedly, making a loud 
noise ; and the building of new queen cells, usually on the edges 
of combs. The earliest date at which swarming will probably 
take place may be estimated pretty closely by noting the age 
of the brood in the most advanced queen cell (10). Top or 
first swarms usually issue in the forenoon of a fine day, but may 
issue at an earlier or later hour. The old fertilised queen goes 
with the top swarm; if she fails to issue with or remain with 
the swarm, it will return to the hive. The swarm when it issues 
will probably settle on some bush orbranch adjacent to the hive; 
immediate steps should then be taken to secure it for the reason 
already given (11). 
When the swarm is settling down, or immediately afterwards, it 
should be sprinkled with cold water by 
93. Securing a Swarm. means of a sprayer, syringe, or wisp, to cool 
the bees, so that they shall have no tendency 
to rise. The next thing is to get the swarm safely into a straw 
skep, or a light box. If the position of the swarm is such that 
the skep can be held underneath it to receive the bees when 
jerked into it by giving a sharp upward movement to the branch 
or other object to which the swarm adheres, this is a good and 
simple method to adopt. It may be, however, that the swarm 
is so placed that this method of securing it could not well be 
carried out, in which case the skep should be fixed in position 
immediately over the swarm, and as close as possible to it; if 
the bees have only just settled, they will probably ascend into 
it; if they do not, they may be induced to do so by placing a 
cloth saturated with subduing solution (180) under them. 
When by either method the swarm has been secured, the skep 
should be taken down, and its mouth should be covered with 
