HISTORY AND PHYSIOLOGY. 23 



When a top swarm has gone forth, the old queen 

 accompanying them, leaving embryo queens in the 

 hive, the guard is continued to prevent the first one 

 out from rushing to and destroying all her sister 

 queens, thereby preventing the possibility of any after 

 swarms going forth. In some instances the young 

 queens are imprisoned in their cells for days, being 

 fed through an opening at the end of the cell, by the 

 workers, until circumstances change so as to make 

 it proper to release them. 



Experiments can easily be instituted by amateurs, 

 or any one doubting the truth of this, to test it, by 

 constructing observatory hives, with glass sides, ex- 

 posing to view the combs and all the workings of 

 the colony. Directions will be found on another 

 page for constructing such hives. 



Thus we find the worker bees capable of carrying 

 on all the affairs of the hive, rearing a queen when 

 destitute (providing they have eggs), controlling the 

 queen, and preventing her from destroying the em- 

 bryo queens ; and I will venture the opinion, that they 

 (the workers) cause her to leave the old hive with the 

 top swarm ; if left to herself, she would not emigrate 

 from her old home. This is but an opinion, the truth 

 of which time and observation will demonstrate. 



THE ONLY NECESSITY FOR THE QUEEN IS TO PROVIDE EGGS 

 FOR THE COLONY. 



That the colony is entirely dependent on the queen 

 for a supply of eggs, few will doubt; but the idea 

 has generally prevailed that this is not her only 



