180 ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 



As the fertility of the Queen decreases by age, the disad- 

 vantage of using non-swarming hives of the ordinary con- 

 struction, will be obvious. This objection to the system can 

 be remedied in my hive, as the old Queen can be easily 

 caught and removed ; but when hives are used in which this 

 cannot be done, the Apiary, instead of containing a race of 

 young Queens in the full vigor of their reproductive powers, 

 will contain many that have passed their prime, and these 

 old Queens may die when there are no eggs in the hive to 

 enable the bees to replace them, and thus the whole colony 

 will perish. 



If the bee-keeper wishes to winter only a certain number 

 of stocks, I will, in another place, show him a way in which 

 this can be done, so as to obtain more honey from them, 

 than from an equal number kept on the non-swarming plan, 

 while at the same time, they may all be maintained in a state 

 ofjhe^highest health and vigor. 



'^l shall now describe a method of artificial swarming, 

 which may be successfully practiced with almost any hive, 

 by those who have sufficient experience in the management 

 of bees. 



About the time that natural swarming may be expected, 

 a populous hive, rich in stores is selected, and what I shall 

 call a. forced swarm is obtained from it, by the following pro- 

 cess. Choose that part of a pleasant day, say from 10 A. 

 M. to 2 P. M., when the largest number of bees are abroad 

 in the fields ; if any bees are clustered in front of the hive, 

 or on the boltom^board, puff" among them a few whiffs of 

 smoke from burning rags or paper, or better still from punk 

 or rotten wood, so as to force them to go up among the 

 combs. This can be done with greater ease, if the hive is 

 i tipped back, or elevated, by small wedges, about one quar- 

 ter of an inch above the bottom-board. Have an empty 



