198 
MANAGEMENT IN SWARMING. 
liad covered the alighting-board like a heavy dew, is 
rapidly dried up by the great increase of heat. 
A swarm on the wing is a most agreeable spectacle 
to the Bee-master. It is true his harvest of honey 
might be more plentiful, were the population to re- 
main undivided, and be accommodated with additional 
room, either by means of storifying or collateral 
hiving ; still, to the lover of nature, the develop- 
ment of the instincts and habits of this interesting 
insect, which takes place in the process of swarming, 
is a source of genuine pleasure. At the same 
time, it must be owned, this pleasure is not always 
unmingled with anxiety, for his winged favourites 
sometimes mount high in the air and fly off, perhaps 
to a habitation previously chosen, and to which they 
are guided by their scouts. To prevent this evil, the 
owner and his assistant must hasten to throw up 
amongst them handfuls of small gravel or earth, 
which has generally the effect of bringing them down. 
If it fail, and they seem determined to travel, the 
owner must prepare himself to follow ; for the in- 
sects, when thus disposed to wander, condense their 
straggling circles, and dart off with great rapidity, 
always in a straight line, and generally against the 
wind. To put a stop to their flight, the common 
practice is to make all sorts of noises, ringing of hells, 
beating of pans and other sonorous vessels.* Long 
* Butler thinks that these noises were originally intended 
to proclaim to the neighbourhood that a swarm had risen, and 
that they might know whence it came, and to whom it be- 
longed. 
