98 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 
it a portion of one of the secondary or smaller wings. With finely 
pointed scissors this operation can be performed while the queen is 
loose on the combs, but there is much danger of clipping one or more of 
her legs also. If she be caught by her wings with the thumb and first 
finger of the right hand, and then grasped by the thorax with the thumb 
and first two fingers of the left hand, her wings can easily be reached 
with the scissors. It will not do to grasp the queen by the abdomen? 
and of course there should be but little pressure exerted on the thorax. 
There are some objections against clipping. The queens, being unable 
to fly, are liable to get lost in the grass or stray into the wrong hives 
when they swarm during the absence of the attendant. They certainly 
look unsightly when thus maimed, and occasionally the bees are more 
disposed to replace such queens than unmutilated ones. It is of course 
preferable to lose one of these occasionally rather than the whole swarm. 
When the queen is clipped the operation of hiving is very easy if the 
bee keeper is on hand to catch the queen as she falls from the entrance 
to the ground. When the swarm is fairly out and while the bees are 
still circling in the air an empty hive should be set in place of the one 
from which the swarm has issued. The bees, missing their queen, will 
soon begin to return to their old location and will shortly crowd the 
entrance of the new hive. When about one-fourth have entered the 
queen may be allowed to run in, and the treatment will then not be 
different from that given any newly hived swarm. 
AUTOMATIC HIVERS. 
Thus far the automatic hivers have been only partially successful, so 
that the experimental stage has not yet been passed; but the practical 
perfection of such a device is looked forward to with considerable 
confidence. 
PREVENTION OF AFTER-SWARMING. 
The parent colony, removed from its old hive as soon as the first swarm 
issues, will rarely cast a second swarm, especially if a young queen is 
at hand to be introduced within a day or two. The surplus queen cells 
are likely to be destroyed by this young queen, with the assistance of 
the workers. A laying queen will be readily accepted by a colony which 
by swarming and removal has lost its old bees, and ten to fifteen days 
will be gained in the production of brood. Unless increase is especially 
desired it is best to limit it in this way to first swarms. If still less 
increase is wanted, methods which will be referred to later may be fol- 
lowed to prevent swarming as far as possible, and such chance swarms 
as do issue may be returned to the parent hive. If the queens are two 
or more years old, they may in most instances be profitably destroyed 
at this time and young ones introduced from nuclei; but whether intro- 
ducing young queens or returning the swarm with its old queen, great 
care must be taken to destroy every queen cell, otherwise the introduced 
queen may be killed or the swarm may again issue. If, however, no 
