CHAPTER VI. 
CONTROLLED INCREASE. 
Disadvantage of Natural Swarming — Variation and 
Selection — Importance of Artificial Selection to Im- 
prove the Race — Artificial Swarming ofi Skeps — 
Driving: Open and Close — The Rationale ofi Driv- 
ing : Cautions respecting — Transferring — Trans- 
ferring-boards — Three out of Two^’ — Plans with 
Frame Hives — How to Examine Combs of Latter 
— Handling the Queen — Making Swarms by Jerking 
and Brushing — False Cluster — Swarm-box — Weigh- 
I ing Bees for Sale — Number of Bees to the Pound — 
Nucleus-swarming — The Prevention of Swarming. 
The hive bee’s natural means of increase, “swarming,” 
! demands so much time, and is accompanied by such 
I uncertainty and inconvenience, that but few api- 
1 1 culturists nowadays have not taken the matter, as 
far as practicable, into their own hands, increasing 
I the number of their colonies, when they deem such 
i increase desirable, by a variety of methods called 
I generally, but with doubtful accuracy, “ artificial 
'll . ,, 
y, swarming. 
It is needless to point out that if the question of 
* colonisation be left to the determination of the bees, 
! VoL. II. Q 
