MEANS ADOPTED FOR THE SETTLING OF SWARMS. 195 



pose of inducing the swarm to settle, such as beating frying- 

 pans, pokers, and shovels, and throwing amongst them water 

 and sand. Martin recommends the use of the garden 

 engine ; but the question here arises, whether an instrument 

 of that unwieldy nature can be brought at all into action. 

 We are, however, by no means an advocate for any of these 

 experiments ; the better method is to watch the swarm in 

 silence, and when they have once collected themselves, to 

 lose no time in hiving it. Many persons perform this 

 operation without any safeguard to their person : we would, 

 however, always recommend some covering being applied to 

 the face, the hands, and the legs, for the very consciousness 

 of security imparts a greater degree of boldness and pre- 

 sence of mind, and these are two qualities, which are indis- 

 pensable in all operations connected with the apiary. 



Wildman and numerous other apiarians strongly recom- 

 mend the fryingpan and the tongs and poker system ; but 

 in our long experience, we never observed the bees pay 

 any attention to the din and uproar ; for were it to equal the 

 noise at the building of the tower of Babel, the bees will not 

 settle, until the queen has set them the example. "We are 

 inclined to believe that the custom of beating warming-pans 

 and shovels and pokers did not originate in any notion that 

 the swarm would be induced to settle the sooner, but that it 

 may be traced to an intention on the part of the proprietor to 

 apprize his neighbours of the departure of his swarm, that 

 he may be able to claim it as his property. It is a very 

 false idea entertained by some of the country people, that if a 

 swarm settles in their garden, it becomes their undisputed 

 property. By the same law of reasoning, they might claim 

 a pig or a cow that had intruded itself upon their premises. 

 The chief difficulty in regard to the swarm is the identity of 

 it, for the cottager argues that it is very probable other 

 hives in the neighbourhood may have swarmed ; and where 

 a person is inclined to be dishonest, he is very seldom at a 



