ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 157 



and brushing them gently until they enter, which they 

 will do readily, or you can shake them directly on 

 the combs from the top; brush them gently until all 

 have descended aud clustered among the combs, then 

 cover with a cloth o"r honey-board. 



Enough combs and bees may be obtained from one 

 strong, vigorous colony, to make two good nuclei, 

 and leave sufficient to keep it in fair condition ; but 

 should there not be enough bees to supply the nuclei, 

 they can be taken from some other hive in a similar 

 manner. There is no difficulty in uniting bees from 

 different hives to form nuclei, at this season of the 

 year. 



The new colony, or nucleus, may now be set at any 

 desired place in the apiary. The entrance to the hive 

 should be partially closed to admit of but two or 

 three bees passing at a time ; this will exclude the 

 cool air, and guard against robbers. 



In making colonies by this method, nearly all the 

 bees that have been abroad and had their course 

 established, will return to the old hive, very few re- 

 maining for the nucleus, except those that are quite 

 young; consequently they will work but very little, 

 if at all, for a few days. It is well, during this time, 

 to look in quietly and see if they are properly clus- 

 tered on the brood-combs. Should many leave and 

 not enough remain to keep the brood warm, replenish 

 it from some strong hive, as at first. Should there 

 be more bees in the nucleus than are necessary to 

 cover the two combs, others should be added, as 

 follows : select a hive that has a fertile queen and 

 14 



