I20 A Modern Bee-Farm 



intimidated, so that the normal condition of the workers 

 was not upset in any way. They did not therefore gorge 

 themselves with honey — but the workers in the fields 

 from the diseased hive returned to the clean hive then 

 in its place. 



The next case was simply one oi increasing from a badly 

 diseased hive which had a native queen. At the middle 

 of a warm day the hive was lightly smoked and the queen 

 removed, so that she might be left in a clean hive on the 

 old stand, with foundation in the frames, to collect the 

 flying bees. They were given one frame of healthy capped 

 brood as well, while the original hive of combs was 

 removed to some distance. The young bees in the 

 latter were without a fertile queen for some three 

 weeks, by which time they had one laying, from a 

 queen cell given them. In the interval, honey coming in 

 rapidly, the whole of the diseased matter was cleaned out 

 by the young bees ; and after the young queen started 

 laying, everything continued so satisfactory, and perfectly 

 clean, that another division of the stock was made in July. 

 The first swarm continued to build up nicely, and no sign 

 of disease was at any time evident. Turning a diseased 

 stock into three strong and healthy colonies was certainly 

 better than destruction. 



This is only one example of others that were treated in 

 precisely the same way — making healthy increase instead 

 of destroying the original ; but it must be borne in mind 

 that no bees were shaken from the combs, the whole hive 

 was removed with as little disturbance as possible, the 

 operations were carried out with stocks before they were 

 allowed to become seriously depopulated ; the time was 

 favourable for swarming and rapid honey-gathering, and 

 lastly, but almost more important than all, there remains 

 the fact that the diseased combs were covered with none 



