46 BEE-KEEPING FOR PROFIT 
entrance blocked up so that only one or two 
bees can pass in or out at a time. ‘This may 
be widened after the queen has been mated. 
The Treatment of Swarms will be found 
explained on page 68. 
The Scent of the Bee.—Every novice in 
bee-keeping should make a point of acquiring 
knowledge by practical experience on this 
wonderful point in connection with bees, for 
it plays a most important part in the success 
of bee-keeping. Not only does each hive 
diffuse a different scent from that of its 
neighbour—even though the nectar may be 
gathered by the bees from the same scource 
—but the scent of each hive may vary accord- 
ing to the work that is going on within it. 
Each individual bee, too, can diffuse a varying 
scent to suit its circumstances. An expert 
bee-keeper can generally tell from the scent 
immediately he opens his hive what reception 
he is likely to meet with, for even our native 
bees are seldom found to be docile in the 
midst or towards the end of a honey-flow. 
When bees are swarming they emit quite 
a distinct scent, which probably accounts for 
the friendly reception accorded at that time 
to bees from other hives. When a stranger 
approaches a hive, or if the bees are disturbed, 
