288 miner's AMERICAN 



its numbers, and the other cannot possibly thrive with- 

 out an accession to its strength. 



The true and proper way is by adopting the princi- 

 ples of artificial swarming, as I shall soon explain. It 

 simply consists in attaching a piece of brood-comb con- 

 taining larvae, in two or more hives, according to the 

 number of families that may be desired to make, and 

 then dividing the bees, placing them in the hives with 

 the brood-combs, and if no queens happen to be among 

 them, they can make them, as I have before stated. If 

 the division take place on the day of swarming, brood- 

 combs should be placed in each hive ; but if left until 

 three or four days after being hived, they should be 

 placed in the empty hive only, since the full one would 

 probably, already contain combs and eggs ; and there 

 would be no necessity of disturbing the queen pertain- 

 ing to it. The manner of division in this latter case is 

 thus : — at any time of day, a small portion of bees should 

 be gently shook out of the hive containing a double 

 family, in such a position, that they will enter the empty 

 hive, which is to be placed in the full one's position ; 

 then carry the full one to a new situation, not less than 

 ten feet off, and during the two succeeding days, the 

 empty hive will gain strength as before described, until 

 a respectable family accumulates. 



UNION OF SWARMS. 



A union of two or more small swarms may be effected 

 on the day of swarming, without any trouble. All that 

 is to be done is, to make one mass of them, and the 



