; a3 
under one may be removed. But on the contrary, if the 
bees be crowded in the single pannier, the second should — 
remain: it is then a Scottish hive. ‘These are not ordinary 
events, but they sometimes happen. 
When a swarm of bees is housed, and the box or pannier 
placed on its bench, it should be well luted, leaving only 
one smail opening for the passage of the bees. Cow-dung, 
with a fourth part of slacked lime, well mixed, is one of 
the best lutes which can be used. It will also be neces- 
sary to apply a very thin coat of the same composition, to 
all the seams of the hive, whether made of wood, straw, 
heath, or osier. It will become very hard when dried. 
* * * * * 
If two swarms come off from two hives at the same time, 
and settle on the same branch of a tree, (which is not un- 
common in a large establishment,) both the swarms ought 
to be put into one box or pannier. ‘The family will be 
stronger by the union, and if, on the succeeding day, nei- 
ther of the swarms renounce the association, and separate 
to form a new establishment elsewhere,—the union will be 
fixed and permanent, and the weaker of the two queens 
will be assassinated. But if three or four swarms settle 
together, it will be necessary to separate them. 
This operation must be performed after sun down. On 
the cloth where the swarms are collected, two panniers 
must be placed, into which the bees must be divided as 
equally as possible, by dipping them up with a large spoon, 
the edge of which should be smooth so as not to wound 
them. If on the next day the bees appear tranquil, it is 
because there is at least one queen in each hive. If there 
should be two, the family know how to dispose of them: 
they only retain one, and that one, the best suited for the 
head of the colony. 
In fact, if several queens happen to be in one hive, the 
neuters will permit only one to remain. ‘They never mis- 
take in their choice: it is always the strongest, healthiest, 
and most fecund, which is permitted to remain. Thus, 
the pretended combats, or duels between two queens, so 
emphatically asserted, and repeated by our modern know- 
ing ones, have no existence, but in their own imaginations 
and books. ; 
‘When a swarm leaves a hive, and the proprietor does. 
not follow it, or cause it to be followed, it belongs to the 
- first who finds and takes possession of it. But to secure 
- 
