92 
BEE-CULTUItE. 
“artificial swarming.” But if it be done after this period, 
and where the scarcity of honey pasturage would render it 
unwise or unsafe to form a new colony, then the native queen 
should at once be abstracted from her colony, and a few hours 
later, when the workers have discovered their loss and have 
become dispirited by their unsuccessful search for her, the 
hive containing the Italian queen should be placed on a level 
spot of ground near its future stand, with a swarming cloth 
tacked to and spread on the ground in front of it. Then, 
after smoking or alarming the remaining bees contained in 
the original hive until they are gorged with honey, they should 
bo shaken from their combs on the swarming cloth. As soon as 
they have entered the hive, now placed on its stand (which 
they will do in a short time), on their becoming quiet and 
composed, open the hive and hang into it the remainder of 
their combs, thus by degrees transferring the entire contents, 
except the native queen, from one hive to the other. 
This process is somewhat tedious, but I have not yet 
learned of a single instance where it has been unsuccessful, 
except by the escape of the Italian queen before any of the 
bees had entered her hive ; and this may be prevented by 
clipping one of her wings. As a colony will never receive 
a strange queen so long as they possess a fertile one, in all the 
processes for introducing queens the first act to be performed 
is the abstraction of the incumbent queen, and the apprisal 
of the workers of their loss by shaking the bees from several 
combs into their hives. This usually so alarms them that 
they proceed at once to gorge themselves with honey, which 
renders them so docile and tractable that I have, in a great 
number of cases, introduced Italian queens as soon after as 
they indicated their consciousness of the loss of their queen, 
by their moaning noise, by simply taking the Italian queens 
by their wings, with the thumb and forefinger of my right 
hand, and sloi'j/y and gently placing them on the top of the 
combs of the queenlcss colony among the workers, still hold- 
ing her fast, however , until the workers indicate their wil- 
lingness to receive and treat her Icindly , which they usually 
do by offering her food, and such other manifestations of fa- 
vor as they habitually display towards their own queen. 
This allays all her fears of violence from them, and when re- 
leased, which may be done, if kindly treated, within a minuto 
after presentation, she will glide down between the combs 
