186 AKTIFICIAL SWAEMING. 



carried to the mouth of the old hive, and they will readily 

 enter it. 



. It may often be convenient to make swarms early in the 

 morning, by those who wish to have them remain on their 

 own premises. In this case the decoy hive must stand on 

 the old Spot, and a suitable number of bees be made to 

 enter it in the way just described. These bees will in a 

 short time miss their queen, and begin to run in great con- 

 fusion in and out and over the hive, and many of them to 

 take wing. The parent hive must now be presented to 

 them, and when they have entered, it must be removed to a 

 new place, and the forced swarm hived and returned to the 

 old stand. 



In performing these various operations it is very desirable, 

 especially if there are several old swarms in the apiary, 

 standing close together, that the decoy hive, and that for the 

 new swarm, should be of the same shape and even color 

 with the hive which is to be forced. If they are very 

 unlike, the returning bees will often prefer to enter an ad- 

 joining hive that looks more like their old home. If they 

 attempt to do this, the neighboring hives should have sheets 

 thrown over them to hide them from the bees until the 

 operation is completed. 



The directions which have here been given for the forma- 

 tion of artificial swarms, will be found to differ, in some 

 important respects, from any which have been previously 

 given, either by other writers, or in my former treatise, and 

 to be so simple that any one accustomed to handle bees can 

 very easily follow them. By means of them, any apiarian, 

 let him use what kind of hive he pleases, can make himself 

 entirely independent of natural swarming. 



It will be obvious, however, that this whole process of 

 artificial swarming, in order to be successfully performed. 



