CHAPTER XVIII 
THE STORY OF THE SWARM 
W HEN professional breeders of the honey-bee 
have succeeded in producing the much- 
desired non-swarming race, and swarming has 
become a thing of the past, naturalists of the old 
“instinct ’? school will be able to turn their backs 
on at least one very inconvenient question. 
There is no denying that the breeders are 
theoretically right in their present efforts. The 
swarming-habit in the honey-bee is admittedly the 
main obstacle to large honey-takes; and now that 
two of the principal objects of swarming—the 
multiplication of stocks and renewal of queens—are 
fairly well understood, and can be artificially effected, 
there is no doubt that the universal adoption of a 
non-swarming strain throughout the bee-farms of 
the country, if such a thing were possible, would 
result in a very greatly increased honey-yield, and 
the people would get cheap honey. But at present 
it is not easy to see that any progress whatever in 
this direction has been made. The bees continue to 
swarm, in spite of beautifully adjusted theories; 
and the old attempt to fit the square peg ot instinct 
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