SEPARATING DOUBLE SWARMS. 
25 
to see the queens as they pass along. With a quill or brush, 
start the bees each way, having two or three feet for them to 
travel to reach each hive. Keep the bees moving and the en- 
trances open. Watch for the queen near one entrance, while an 
assistant watches at the other hive. Both queens are often seen 
as they crawl over the sheet. If both are found, divide the bees 
equally, giving a queen to each hive, and the work is done. 
Should you find but one, secure her in a tumbler. Divide the 
bees about equally, and, by watching them a few minutes, you 
will soon see where your queen is needed, as those without a 
queen will show the usual symptoms, by running about the en- 
trance and up the outside of the hive as if in search of some 
thing. Present the queen to them and they will soon become 
quiet. But, should neither queen be seen, you stand one chance 
in two of getting a queen in each hive. W atch them fifteen or 
twenty minutes. If one show signs of being queenless, if in a 
common hive, set it upon a thin sheet, and tie the corners over 
the top to prevent the bees escaping. Lay the hive down upon 
its side lest the bees smother for want of air. Now, shake the 
part that has the queens again upon the sheet, making them 
travel some distance to reach the hive. You will seldom fail to 
see one of the queens. When one is found, secure her in a 
tumbler, and when the bees are all in carry the hive to its stand. 
Set up the other hive, untie the sheet and place the queen at 
bile entrance, when the bees will joyfully receive her. This hive 
should be placed some distance from the other on a separate 
stand. 
