ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 149 



deposit a worker egg or young larva, and continue 

 to increase the length of the cell until it is about an 

 inch long, and about the sixth day seal it up, when 

 it resembles a pea nut, both in shape, size and color. 

 After remaining sealed up from eight to twelve days, 

 or from fourteen to eighteen days from the removal 

 of the old queen (the time is varied by the temper- 

 ature of the weather; in California they usually 

 emerge from the cell about the fourteenth day, whilst 

 in Pennsylvania about the sixteenth or eighteenth), 

 the first one to come forth will soon find her way to 

 the cells containing her sister queens and destroy 

 them, by cutting into the sides of the cells and in- 

 flicting a death wound on her unsuspecting sister, by 

 stinging her. 



When queens are wanted to supply artificial swarms 

 or queenless colonies, the royal cell should be re- 

 moved from the queen nursery three or four days 

 before any emerge, and placed in the colony where 

 wanted. Providing queens in this manner renders 

 the propagation of bees by division or artificial 

 swarms easy, and the result certain. 



MAKING ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 



In the spring, when stocks have become strong 

 and a few drones have made their appearance, there 

 being a plentiful supply of honey abroad, is a proper 

 time to commence dividing. Three plans present 

 themselves, either of which may be adopted and 

 practiced successfully, the first of which is as follows : 

 A few days before you wish to make any consider- 

 13* 



