172 SEASONS OF SWARMING. 



DUCOUEDIC— JUNCTION OF SWARMS FROM DIFFERENT HIVES— SYSTEM TO 

 BE ADOPTED— THE WEIGHT OF A SWARM THE CRITERION OF ITS VALUE- 

 WEIGHT OF SWARMS— SECOND SWARMS— SIGNS OF A HIVE NOT THROWING 

 OFF A SECOND SWARM— THE SUPERFLUOUS UUEENS KILLED BY THE BEES 

 —THE QUEENS TAKE NO PART IN THE MASSACRE OF THE YOUNG QUEENS— 

 THE ROYAL DUELS OF HUEER-DESCRIPTION OF A DUEL— CONDUCT OF THE 

 BEES TOWARDS THE VICTORIOUS QUEEN — THE CAUSE OF IT ASCERTAINED 

 BY HUBER— ITS REMOVAL— HUBER's OPINION OF THE DISCOVERIES t'F 

 SCHIRACH AND REIMS — THE PRETENDED DISCOVERIES OF HUBER CON- 

 SIDERED AS IMPOSSIBLE — SITUATION OF THE ROYAL NYMPHS IN THE CELL 

 — THE ROYAL NYMPHS STUNG TO DEATH BY THE FIRST BORN QUEEN — 

 CONTRADICTIONS OF HUBER RELATIVE TO THE EXTRACTION OF THE STING 

 — THE BODY OF THE BEE IMPERVIOUS TO STINGS — SINGULAR METHOD 

 ADOPTED BY THE BEES TO KILL A QUEEN — THE ROYAL DUELS OF HUBER 

 DENIED BY DUNBAR — PROBABLE DEATH OF THE QUEENS OF TWO SWARMS 

 A SECOND SWARM SELDOM WORTH PRESERVING COMPARATIVE ADVANT- 

 AGES OF A FIRST AND SECOND SWARM — JUNCTION OF SECOND SWARMS — 

 SYSTEM OF BONNER IN THE JUNCTION OF SWARMS — ITS DEFECTS — PRAC- 

 TICAL SKILL OF THE GERMAN APIARIANS — THE BEES RECOGNISE EACH 

 OTHER BY THE SMELL — SINGULAR CUSTOM ADOPTED BYTHE GERMANS ON 

 THE INTRODUCTION OF A QUEEN — JUNCTION OF SWARMS BY PARTIAL 



DROWNING TWO SWARMS WORKING TOGETHER IN THE SAME HIVE — 



CURIOUS STATEMENT OF MR. GAGNIARD RELATIVE TO THREE SWARMS- 

 FOOD TO BE ADMINISTERED TO WEAK SWARMS — THE HIVING OF A SWARM 

 ON THE GROUND — SYSTEM OF MARTIN ON THE PROTRACTED CLUSTERING 

 OF THE BEES — METHOD OF STRENGTHENING A WEAK HIVE — THE SWARM 

 OF A SWARM— REMARKS OF l'aBBE TESSIER— A SWARM TO BE PREVENTED 



FROM SWARMING VIRGIN SWARMS — ARTIFICIAL SWARMS — OBJECTIONS 



TO THEM — PLAN OF WILDMAN, OF SCHIRACH — METHOD OF FORMING 

 ARTIFICIAL SWARMS IN THE HUISH HIVE — PLAN RECOMMENDED BY DD- 

 CARNE — APPARATUS TO BE WORN IN ALL APIARIAN OPERATIONS — EFFI- 

 CACY OF SMOKE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF BEES — GENERAL REMARKS. 



In regard to the time in which the bees throw off their 

 swarms, it differs according to the climate of the country. 

 We learn from Mr. Mentelle, that the hives in the island of 

 Cuba throw their swarms during the whole of the year, and 

 Don Ulloa says that a swarm, and sometimes two, are cast 

 every month ; in Europe, however, the spring or the begin- 

 ning of summer is the time when the swarms appear, but 

 this is in all cases regulated by the forwardness or backward- 

 ness of the season. 



In England, the swarms generally appear in the months of 

 May and June. We have, however, known a swarm in the 

 vicinity of Stirling in Scotland as early as the 24th of April. 

 In France, the time of swarming is generally computed from 

 the 15th of May to the 15th of June, according to the for- 

 wardness or backwardness of the season. In Italy, the 

 swarms take place about the first week in May, and not 

 unfrequently in the latter end of April. In Sicily, the 



