93 
necessary to interfere, or in anywise to anticipate the 
gratifying spectacle of a natural swarm. But the vicis- 
situdes of our climate ate so frequent, ever varying and 
changing still ; so sudden and sometimes so extraordin- 
ary ; smiling now and frowning again ; aye, as coquet- 
tish and uncertain as the youthful maiden, that the 
bee-master, in trusting to the process of nature, more 
frequently finds his best wishes annihilated and the 
golden hours of spring dwindled and frittered away ere 
his swarms come forth.” 
The convenience and saving of time to the bee-keep- 
er is another important item in favorof artificial swarm- 
ing ; by the aid of the movable-comb hive an artificial 
swarm can be made in five minutes, and by devoting 
the mid-day hours for a few days to this work, a hun- 
dred colonies may be swarmed, wilhout help and with- 
out interfering with the usual labors of the day. 
Success depends on the following conditions and 
rules, which must be strictly observed, or the attempt 
may result in failure : 
ist. A stock should never be divided until it has be- 
come strong in population. If the strength of a col- 
ony is crippled by a division, before the colony could 
spare a sufficient number of bees to make a proper 
swarm, neither portion would be able to generate suffi- 
cient heat for breeding or comb-building ; while on the 
Other hand if it is left until it can spare a swarm, both 
