ARTIFICIAL SWAKMING. 89 



continues for weeks. Again, the bee-master can use this 

 artificial mode of swarming at his convenience — ^morning, 

 noon, or evening, and when there is the appearance of a 

 continuation of fine weather. It is a great .advantage to 

 a swarm to get three or four fine days after being put into 

 an empty hive. In the chapter on feeding bees, the ad- 

 vantage of feeding young swarms in showery weather will 

 be pointed out. When the first swarms are taken off arti- 

 ficially, a number of royal cells are generally occupied or 

 employed for rearing young queens at the same time — that 

 is to say, three or four queens are set about the same time 

 — and these coming to perfection together, afford a greater 

 certainty of getting second swarms ; and this is an import- 

 ant affair in an apiary of large hives, for in a honey season 

 large hives that do not send off second colonies become 

 far too heavy for stock-hives. In mentioning the advan- 

 tage of second swarms, we are aware that the great bulk of 

 English apiarians do not agree with us ; but we are fully 

 convinced that as soon as they adopt larger hives, and seek 

 the largest quantity of honey from them, they wiU con- 

 sider second swarms an advantage — and not a smaU one. 



Other favourable views of the advantages of artificial 

 swarming could be presented here, but we think that the 

 fact of its answering as well as natural swarming, and 

 that it can be done in a few minutes at any time of the 

 day, are sufficient to convince every earnest bee-keeper of 

 the folly of waiting and watching day by day for swarms 

 coming off naturally. 



But the reader may say, " I am timid, and can't believe 

 that I could manage to swarm my bees." A great Amer- 

 ican once said : " / can't do it never did anything ; I'll 

 try has done wonders ; but 7 will do it has performed 

 prodigies." The reader must allow us to tell him that 

 he can swarm his bees artificially if he wills to do it ; and 

 what now appear wonders and prodigies in the manage- 



