204 ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 



the queen will never be able to enter them for the purpose of 

 depositing eggs. This, and many other points of interest and 

 importance, I have been prevented, by the state of my health, 

 from testing this season, (1856.) 



The certainty, rapidity and ease, of making artificial 

 swarms with my hives, amaze those most who have had the 

 greatest experience and success in the management of bees. 

 Instead of weeks wasted in watching the Apiary, in 

 addition to all the other vexations and embarrassments 

 which are so often found to attend reliance on natural swarm- 

 ing, the Apiarian will find not only that he can create all his 

 new colonies in a very short time, but that he can, if he 

 chooses, entirely prevent the issue of all after-swarms. In 

 order to do this, he ought to examine the stocks which are 

 raising young queens, in season to cut out all the queen cells 

 but one, before the larvae come to maturity. If he gave them 

 a sealed queen nearly mature, they will raise no others, and 

 no swarming, for that season, will take place. If the Apia- 

 rian wishes to do more than to double his stocks in one season, 

 and is favorably situated for practicing natural swarming, 

 or for any reason prefers this mode of increasing his stocks, 

 he can prevent all after-swarming by cutting out the excess 

 of queen cells, or he can strengthen all the small swarms, by 

 giving to them comb, with honey and maturing brood from 

 other tiives. 



I do not know that I can find a better place, in which to 

 impress certain highly important principles upon the atten- 

 tion of the bee-keeper. I am afraid that in spite of all that 

 I can say, many persons, as soon as they find themselves able 

 to multiply colonies at pleasure, will so overdo the matter, 

 as to run the risk of losing all their bees. If the Apiarian 

 aims at obtaining a large quantity of surplus honey in any 

 one season, he cannot at the furthest, more than double the 



