PREVENTION OF NATURAL SWARMING. 235 
ventilation cannot be readily given from one apartment to 
another. 
461. The giving of combs in a place of easy access, must 
be attended to, just before the crop begins, or the bees may 
make preparations which would render all later enlargements 
of the hive completely useless, as far as prevention of swarming 
is concerned. The breeding room must be large enough to ac- 
conmodate the most prolific queen (155). 
462. 2nd. The hive must be located where the sun will 
not strike it directly in the hottest hours of the day. It can 
easily be sheltered artificially with a roof, if there is no 
shrubbery around it (369). 
463. 3d. The drone-comb must be carefully removed, in 
Spring, as far as possible, and replaced by worker-comb 
(675). It is impossible to remove every cell of drone- 
comb, but a few drones will not hurt. It is the excess, the 
breeding of thousands of drones which is objectionable, and 
an incentive to swarming. The removal of drone-comb is 
highly advisable for other reasons (512). 
464. 4th. The hive should be thoroughly ventilated, so 
that the bees will find themselves comfortable in it. 
465. This system, which gives the smallest possible 
number of swarms, and the largest possible amount of sur- 
plus-honey, was inaugurated by us, years ago, and has been 
adopted on both continents. Mr. Cowan, the worthy editor 
ef the British Bee-Journal, says of it, page 148, April 1886, 
‘‘ Hives managed in this way, will give the maximum of 
honey with the least amount of labor.’’ 
If the above directions are followed, the natural swarms 
will not exceed three to five per cent. These swarms will 
be very large—Mr. DeLayens once had a swarm weighing 
114 lbs—and after-swarms will be scarce. The few hives 
that swarm are those which, having old queens, attempt to 
replace them during the swarming season (499), or those 
whose queens die while the crop is abundant. 
