CHAPTER IV. 
ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 
That bees may be swarmed artificiallj', although not known 
to all even at the present day, is not a late discovery, but has 
been practiced for over a century, with more or less success, 
depending entirely upon the observance of the three following 
conditions, to wit: the proper time for swarming; the condition 
of the stock; and whether the method employed was in harmony 
with or in violation of the laws which govern the economy of 
the hive. 
1st. The time for swarming is not until the yield of honey is 
abundant and drones are numerous in the apiary, nor should it 
be performed so late in the season that the bees will not have 
time to become strong in numbers and rich in stores bcfoie the 
frosts of autumn cut short the pasturage. The safest rule, for 
• the inexperienced, is to wait until natural swarms begin to issue, 
unless he can have a finished queen-cell to give the queenless 
part, or, what is much better, a fertile queen, in which case he 
may swarm somewhat earlier or later than the usual time for 
natural swarms. 
2d. The stock to be swarmed should be very populous, for if 
swarmed when too weak, it is thus robbed of its power to 
generate heat for breeding, and should unfavorable weather 
