ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 203 



ihe hive, and on tearing them in two, he will find that they 

 always have quite a large drop of honey in their stomachs. 

 Now let him catch and tear asunder those which are return- 

 ing, and he will be surprised to see, that while on the wing, 

 they have actually digested all this honey, and are going back 

 for a new supply ! I have seen hives which have been so 

 crowded with drones, that all the spare honey they could 

 gather, was needed to feed them, and nothing remained for 

 their owner. 



The experienced bee-keeper will be able by the use of 

 movable-comb hives, so to repress the production of drones 

 by removing the combs in which they are bred, that his hive 

 will be much more productive in honey, than those where the 

 drones are allowed to remain, or are killed after consuming 

 much honey, and entailing much worse than useless labor 

 upon the bees. If it were possible entirely to repress the 

 production of drones, it would not be desirable, as some are 

 needed in every Apiary, and the bees knowing this, would be 

 very uneasy if prevented from raising any. When my blocks 

 are used to prevent swarming entirely, it will be necessary to 

 move them about an hour or two before sun-set, so that the 

 bees may carry out any dead drones. They may again be 

 adjusted to confine the queen, an hour or two after sun-rise 

 the next morning. I do not feel that I have given this method 

 of preventing swarming, such a full trial that I can confi- 

 dently recommend it, unless for temporary purposes, 

 although I have but little doubt that it will be found to 

 prevent entirely the issue of a swarm. If so, it will be of 

 vast importance to all who desire to keep non-swarming 

 hives, and who are too timid or inexperienced to open a hive 

 to cut off the wings of a queen, or to remove the queen cells. 



It may be found on further experiment, that the entrances 

 to all the spare honey receptacles, may be so adjusted that 



