178 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 



hive progressed during this time, and compare the 

 increase during the season. I have a case at point. 



A man in Sacramento City, in the autumn or 

 winter of 1858, bought ten common box or chamber 

 hives of bees, for which he paid one thousand dollars. 

 The following spring, one of his neighbors advised 

 him to transfer them into our movable comb hive ; his 

 reply was, No, sir ; I will try no experiments until I 

 get my money back. I expect each one of my hives 

 to swarm at least three times, making thirty young 

 swarms, or forty in all. Had this expectation been 

 realized, it would have been a pretty good year's 

 work; but a change of weather at a critical period 

 spoiled all this nice calculation. The weather, up to 

 about the middle of April, continued very fine ; a few 

 swarms came off at different points. One hive, per- 

 haps, in fifteen or twenty having swarmed, it was 

 thought the swarming season had fairly set in; the 

 hopes and anticipations of bee-keepers who were 

 depending on natural swarms to increase their stock, 

 ran very high. An examination of the hives dis- 

 closed the fact, that all strong stocks had, or were 

 busily engaged, making the necessary preparations for 

 swarming, by rearing young queens ; drones were 

 plenty; many of the strong stocks had a pretty good 

 sized swarm clustered outside of the hive ; honey 

 was being stored plentifully; every thing seemed 

 prosperous. But a change came over their dreams. 

 The weather, from being warm and fine, changed to 

 cold, with very high winds, common to California, 

 and continued for a period of eight or ten days. The 



