UNITING STOCKS. 317 



management ; for while it would not be safe, all at once, 

 when other hives are near, to move a colony, even a few 

 yards, to the right or left of the line of flight in which the 

 bees sally out to the fields, it may be moved a slight dis- 

 tance one day, and a little more the next, and so on, until we 

 have them, at last, in the desired place. 



As persons may sometimes be obliged to move their 

 Apiaries, during the working season, I will here describe 

 the manner in which I once accomplished such a removal, 

 so as to benefit, rather than injure the bees. Selecting a 

 [ileasant day, I moved, early in the morning, a portion of 

 my very best stocks. A considerable number of bees fronfi 

 these colonies, returned, in the course of the day, to the fa- 

 miliar spot; after flying about for some time, in search of 

 their hives, (if the weather had been chilly, many bees would 

 have perished,) they at length entered those standing nearest 

 their old homes. More of the strongest were removed, on 

 the next pleasant day ; and this process was repeated, until, 

 at last, only one hive was left in the old Apiary. This was 

 then removed, and but few bees returned to the old spot. I 

 thus lost no more bees, in moving a number of hives, than I 

 should have lost in moving one ; and I conducted the process 

 in such a way, as to strengthen some of my feeble stocks, 

 instead of very seriously diminishing their scanty numbers. 

 I have known the most serious losses to result from removing 

 an Apiary in the usual manner. 



The process of uniting colonies, is very simple. The 

 combs, after the two colonies are sprinkled, are lifted out 

 from the one to be broken up, and put, with all the bees upon 

 them, directly into the other hive. If colonies which are to 

 be united, do not stand near each other, and cannot be moved 

 in the gradual manner just described, they should be remov- 

 ed to some distance, before a union is attempted, 

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