106 REQUISITES OF A GOOD HIVE. 



to swarm just as they do in common hives, and be managed 

 in the usual way. Even on this plan, the great protection 

 against the weather which it affords, and the command over 

 all the combs, will be found to afford unusual advantages. 



Non-swarming hives managed in the ordinary way are 

 liable, in spite of all precautions, to swarm very unexpect- 

 edly, and if not closely watched, the swarm is lost, and with 

 it often the whole profit of that season. In my hives, the en- 

 trance can be so regulated that the Queen cannot leave, and 

 a swarm will not depart without her. 



39. It should enable the Apiarian to prevent a new swarm 

 from forsaking its hive. 



This vexatious occurrence can always be prevented, by 

 adjusting the entrance, for a few days, so that the Queen 

 cannot leave the hive. 



40. It should enable the Apiarian, if he allows his bees to 

 swarm, and wishes to secure surplus honey, to prevent them 

 from throwing more than one swarm in the season. 



Second and third swarms must be returned to the old 

 stock, if the largest quantities of surplus honey are to be re- 

 alized. It is troublesome to watch them, deprive them of 

 their Queens, and restore them to the parent hive. They 

 often issue with new Queens, again and again ; and waste, 

 in this way, both their own time, and that of their keeper. 

 " An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." In 

 my hives, all the' Queen cells except one, in a colony which 

 swarms, may be cut out, and thus after-swarming be easily 

 and effectually prevented. When the old stock is left with 

 but one Queen, she runs no risk of being killed or crippled 

 in a contest with rivals. By such contests, a colony is often 

 left without a Queen, or in possession of one which is too 

 much maimed to be of any service. 



41. A good hive should enable the Apiarian, if he relies 



