286 miner's AMERICAN 



a queen in each, it would save all further trouble. I 

 placed the hives in different situations, and in the course 

 of a few hours I found the whole together again. I then 

 took a small swarm that issued the day previous, and 

 placed it where the hive stood that contained the three 

 swarms, which was filled inside and covered outside 

 with a perfect sheet of bees, and as quickly as possible, 

 I shook out about half of its contents alongside of that 

 containing the small swarm, and then I ran with the 

 hive thus emptied of half its contents, and set it in the 

 place where I took the other from. My object was to 

 force a division in some manner, if possible. I remained 

 a few minutes watching the result. Presently the bees 

 that had been shaken down at the side of the hive, 

 commenced rising on the wing, and mixing with a small 

 part of the other portion of the joint families, that hov- 

 ered in the air, and soon a trail was formed from one 

 hive to the other, and in fifteen minutes, every bee was 

 at the hive in the new situation, some rods off; the 

 knowledge of its position having been communicated 

 from one to another, on the wing. It is only in cases 

 of large numbers of bees being on the wing at the same 

 time, that a communication can be effected by them. 



PROPER MODE OP SEPARATING SWARMS. 



The foregoing experiment was out of the regular order 

 of my usual course, in effecting a division of swarms ; 

 yet such a separation, or rather an equalization of fami- 

 lies may be made. Two swarms, the one very large 

 and the other very small, may be managed thus ; — at 



