180 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



queen could get out, no swarm could leave. When the 

 young queens emerged they could settle their little differ- 

 ences to suit themselves till only one queen was left. I 

 would keep track of what was going on inside the hives 

 sufficiently to take away the excluder after all but one 

 queen had been put out of the way, so the young queen 

 could go out on her wedding-trip. The thing was so cer- 

 tain to work that I spent $37.50 for queen-excluders to 

 put the plan in practice. 



SWARMING GALORE. 



In due time when queen-cells were sealed the swarms 

 began to issue. Then they returned. Then they came 

 out next day. Then they returned again. After doing 

 more or less of this, the time came when the young queens 

 began to emerge. Business became lively. Swarming 

 once a day did not always satisfy them. The number of 

 issues in a day became such that several swarms would 

 be out at a time, and they were not at all particular to 

 keep separate. Neither were they as methodical as 

 prime swarms about returning to their own hives. Al- 

 most any hive seemed to suit them providing there was 

 a good deal of noise at the entrance, and when swarming 

 got well under way for the day there were plenty of 

 hives with noise at the entrance. Whether the excluders 

 leaked queens, or whatever may have been the reason, 

 there were some cases of young queens being out, and 

 when there was a young queen in a swarm there was no 

 telling how many swarms would unite with it. 



ABNORMAL BEHAVIOR. 



After a swarm had been balked in its efforts a num- 

 ber of times there seemed to be a reckless disregard in 

 a good many cases as to the propriety of returning when 

 they had had plenty of time to discover that no young 



