REE CULTURE, 153 
deserted the hive and clustered in the box, which is a pretty 
sure indication the queen is with them. Now cover a sheet 
over the old hive, and empty the bees from the box on a sheet 
in front of the new hive on the old stand ; watch them as they 
crawl up, to discover the queen ; if she goes in, place the old 
box on a new stand, and your work is accomplished. 
If the bees to be operated with are in frame hives, remove 
the oid hive to a distance, and place a new or empty one on 
the old stand, when the bees are working busiest ; lift the 
comb on which you find the queen from the old hive, destroy 
queen cells on it, if any, and place in the center of the new 
one, with the queen ; fill in frames each side, filled with clean 
combs or foundation, proportionate to the strength of the 
colony, and confine to the center of the hive with division 
boards; put on the blanket and hive cover; now take the 
frames one at a time from the old hive, and shake most of 
the bees off in front of the new hive, destroy all the queen 
cells in the old hive but the two best, or give them a laying 
queen after destroying or removing all the cells; put in an 
empty comb or frame of foundation in place of the one re- 
moved to the new hive, spread the blanket over, or put on 
second story with sections or extracting combs, and place the 
hive on a new stand, well removed from the old one. 
Another method which can be practiced with good results, 
is to examine the colony threatening to swarm, remove all 
queen cells started, then remove the hive to the stand occu- 
pied by a very weak colony, and remove the weak colony to 
the stand formerly occupied by the strong one. 
In all cases where foundation or empty combs and division 
boards are used in dividing or artificial swarming, care must 
be used to spread the brood chamber and give additional 
combs or foundation as fast as the bees are ready for it. It 
is more profitable to melt up dirty combs, or those with dead 
brood, and use instead good foundation. If there is a doubt 
about the combs, give the foundation the preference. 
PREPARING FEED FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES. 
If for spring stimulation to breeding, use sugar, honey and 
water, prepared in the following manner: Coffee A sugar, 
one pound; good honey, one pound ; boiling water, one-and- 
a-half pints—simmer on the stove five minutes, and feed at 
