ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 169 



with certainty and rapidity, and without any of the perplex- 

 ities which I have just described, how few persons are so 

 situated as to be able to give almost the whole of their time 

 in the busiest part of the year, to the management of their 

 bees. The swarming season is with the farmer, the very 

 busiest part of the whole year, and if he purposes to keep 

 a large number of swarming hives, he must not only devote 

 nearly the whole of his time, for, a number of weeks, to 

 their supervision, but at a season when labor commands the 

 highest price, he will often be compelled to hire additional 

 assistance. 



I have long been convinced that, as a general rule, the 

 keeping of a few colonies in swarming hives, costs more 

 than they are worth, and that the keeping of a very large 

 number is entirely out of the question, unless with those who 

 are so situated that they can afford to devote their time, for 

 about two months every year, almost entirely to their bees. 

 The number of persons who can afford to do this must be 

 very small ; and I have seldom heard of a bee-keeper, in our 

 country, who has an Apiary on a scale extensive enough to 

 make bee-keeping anything more than a subordinate pursuit. 

 Multitudes have tried to make it a large and remunerating 

 business, but hitherto, I believe that they have nearly all been 

 disappointed in their expectations. 



4. A serious objection to natural swarming, is the discour- 

 aging fact that the bees often refuse to swarm at all, and the 

 Apiarian finds it impossible to multiply his colonies with any 

 certainty or rapidity, even although he may find himself in 

 all respects favorably situated for the cultivation of bees, and 

 may be exceedingly anxious to engage in the business on a 

 much more extensive scale. 



I am acquainted with many careful bee-keepers who have 

 managed their bees according to the most reliable informa- 

 15 



