BEE-KEEPEtt's MANUAL. 127 



swarming is entirely out of the question with a family of 

 bees in such a hive. The increase of every succeed- 

 ing year would disappear before the following spring, or 

 rather numbers equaling the increase ; since all the 

 bees existing in hives in the spring of the year, save the 

 queen, were the young of the preceding summer and fall. 

 Now, ten years have past, and this hive is in precisely 

 the same condition that it was in nine years ago. Not 

 a solitary swarm has ever issued therefrom. Ten gene- 

 rations of bees have existed, nine of which are past 

 away. 



We now pass to what would have been the result, if 

 said swarm had originally been put into a hive about 12 

 inches square. 



The second year, a swarm would have issued, without 

 doubt, and perhaps two ; but we'll say one, in order to 

 be on the safe side, as it is not my intention to give an 

 over- wrought picture in anything I that may discuss. We 

 will now take the very reasonable, and low estimate, of 

 one swarm from every stock, every season, and count 

 up how many would be the result at the end of ten years. 

 The second year, 2, in all ; the third year, 4 ; the fourth 

 year, 8; the fifth year, 16 ; the sixth year, 32; and so 

 on — the tenth year showing five humdeed and twelve 

 families from a single swarm ! ! ! In this calculation, we 

 allow no drawbacks to the prosperity of the bees, such 

 as destruction by the bee-moth, &c. ; yet the usual cas- 

 ualities attending the culture of bees, I contend, can be 

 almost, if not wholly prevented by proper management. 

 So confident am I, that 512 families of bees can, in ten 



