MANAGEMENT CF HONEY BEES. 113 
natural swarms might be looked for. “At 
that time it is hkely royal brood will be 
foundin the combs, or at all events, abundance 
of eggs and larve of workers, from which to 
rear an artificial queen, and the males are 
also at this time numerous, a state of things 
indispensable to the success of artificial 
swarming. ‘The mode of operation is vari- 
ous. With common hives the process is 
somewhat difficult, and not always success- 
ful. The following experiments, however, 
will show that it is not impracticable. From 
the first to the third week in June, my hives 
had thrown their top or prime swarms; but 
instead of sending off their seconds, or casts, 
ten or twelve days thereafter, as is generally 
the case, six of them had not swarmed nearly 
three weeks beyond that period. ‘This was, 
in all likelihood, owing to an unfavorable 
change of weather, which, by delaying 
the swarming, had furnished the reigning 
queen with an opportunity of putting to 
death her intended successors. In this state 
of things, from the crowded condition of the 
10* 
