206 AUSTRALASIAN 
many stocks as he can well look after, and wishes to keep 
down increase; he cannot prevent swarming altogether, and 
weuld like to make use of the swarms, but without increasing 
the number of his colonies. In this, as in most operations 
connected with bee-keeping, various methods are advocated 
by different bee-keepers to attain the same end. I have been 
very successful with the following plan: Hive the swarm in 
the manner already described, and after cutting out all queen 
cells from the parent stock, place the hive containing the 
swarm as a super on the hive it came from. In the course 
of a day or two examine the hive, and if there are any eggs 
and larve in the super, shift the combs containing them below, 
taking care to provide plenty of room. Should there be a 
very large quantity of brood in the hive, some of it might be 
given to other and weaker colonies. When this method is 
carefully carried out, I find it very rarely fail to have the 
desired effect. 
DIVIDING. 
Colonies may be increased by dividing at any time during 
the swarming season, but it should only be attempted with 
strong ones, and then only during a fair honey flow, such as 
would be likely to cause them to swarm naturally. If it be 
intended to increase solely by dividing, then it should be 
carried out just at the commencement of the main honey 
harvest, when the colonies are very populous, and just before 
they make preparations for swarming. Ifit be desired to double 
the number of stocks, and there are already young fertile 
queens in nucleus hives on hand, then the nucleus plan may 
be adopted as follows: On a fine warm day cage one of the 
young queens from a nucleus hive, and transfer the frames 
with the adhering bees to an ordinary hive; hunt up the queen 
of the hive about to be divided, and place her, with the frame 
she is on, in an empty hive for the time being, that it may 
be known where she is. Next move the hive into which the 
nucleus colony has been placed alongside the one to be divided 
and lift four of the central frames well supplied with brood 
and the adhering bees, and hang them alternately with those 
of the nucleus colony; also shake the bees from two or three 
frames into the new hive, and after filling the remaining space 
with empty combs or comb-foundation, place it in the position 
