ROBBERIES. 
153 
NO NECESSITY TO HAVE THE BEES PLUNDERED IN THE PALL. 
The apiarian having his bees plundered in the fall, 
is not fit to have charge of them ; their efforts are 
seldom as strong as in spring, (unless there is a general 
scarcity,) the weak hives are usually better supplied 
with bees, and consequently a less number is exposed ; 
but yet, when there are some very weak families, 
these should be taken away as soon as the flowers fail, 
or strengthened with bees from another hive. Par- 
ticulars in fall management. 
I have sometimes made my swarms equal, early in 
spring, by the following method, and I have also 
failed. Bees, when wintered together in a room, will 
seldom quarrel when first set out. When one stock 
has an over supply of bees, and another a very few, the 
next day or two after being out, I change the weak 
one to the stand of the strong one, (as mentioned a 
page or two back,) and all bees that have marked the 
location return to that place. The failure is, when too 
many leave the strong stock, making that the weak 
one, when nothing is gained. If it could be done 
when they had been out of the house just long enough 
for the proper number to have marked the location, 
success would be quite certain. But before an ex- 
change of this kind is made, it would be well, if pos- 
sible, to ascertain what is the cause of a stock being 
weak ; if it is from the loss of a queen, (which is 
sometimes the case,) we only make the matter worse 
by the operation. To ascertain whether the queen be 
present, do not depend on the bees carrying in pollen ; 
7 * 
