66 
BEE-CULTURE. 
operation is going on, an empty hive should be set on the stand 
of the old hive (this'is called the decoy hive), to catch the 
bees that return from foraging. Now set the decoy hive to 
one side, and set the hive with the new swarm in its place on 
the stand of the old hive ; then set the old hive away a rod 
or more ; shake the bees out of the decoy hive in front of the 
new hive and they will enter it, and you are done. If you do 
not succeed in getting the queen in the new hive, you will 
know it in a few minutes by the bees coming out and mani- 
festing much anxiety. If you have not got her you will have 
to drive again until you find her. As soon as they com- 
mence running up, I tilt the hive to one side and watch for 
her among them. The old hive will seem deserted for a few 
days, but the great number of bees hatching every day will 
soon replenish it. A good swarm of bees thus driven will 
weigh about five or six pounds. 
ANOTHER PLAN. 
If a hive cannot afford a swarm itself, it is a good plan to 
make one from two, thus : Drive all the bees out of one hive, 
call it No. 1 ; remove another strong one, which we will call 
No- 2, a rod or more from its stand. Now take No. 1, which 
has no bees, and set it where No. 2 stood, and two-thirds of 
the bees from No. 2 will enter it and rear a queen ; bnt it is 
better to give them one. All hives that have to rear queens, 
whether they have given a swarm naturally, or otherwise, 
should be examined at the time the new queen should have 
brood and see if all is right. [See Loss of Queens.] But 
artificial swarms can be made much more conveniently by 
using movable comb hives. Open the hive from which you 
wish to take a swarm; look over the combs until you find the 
queen ; lift out the comb with the queen and bees adhering ; 
set this on the centre of the new hive on the stand oftheold one, 
and set the old one away a rod or m ore. Three-fourths of the bees 
will leave and enter the new hive. If you have an empty comb 
in a frame to put in the old hive in place of the one taken out it 
would be a great advantage; if not, set all the combs in the 
hive together, so as to receive an empty frame at the outside ; 
if you can now supply them with a queen or cell it will be a 
great help. Some fear that by artificial divisions there will 
not be the right proportion of honey-gatherers, wax-workers 
