208 
SUMMER. 
will let it pass at that. Yet I think if bees are pro- 
perly cared for, that ninety-nine swarms in a hundred 
will prefer a good clean hive to a rotten tree in the 
woods. 
MEANS OF ARRESTING A SWARM. 
I have had three swarms that were exceptions to 
general rules, giving me some trouble by swarming 
out after being hived ; the third and fourth time they 
left, I threw water among them, causing quite a 
shower ; when m3' pail-full was out, I used earth ; 
they went but a short distance, and clustered in the 
usual way. Now were these bees intending to leave, 
and had their designs frustrated by the water and 
earth? I am not quite as sure as the old lady, who 
knew that “drumming on a tin-pan did good,” but I 
am inclined to think it had some effect. I have heard 
of several instances where swarms were apparently 
stopped, by having earth thrown among them, while 
passing over a field where men were at work. W e 
know they dislike being wet, as we see them hasten- 
ing home on the approach of a shower ; or we can at 
any time drive them in the hive by sprinkling them 
with water. Throwing water in the swarm is a kind 
of imitation shower, and earth is something like it. 
Whether useful or not, these swarms leaving the hive 
was rather suspicious, and I should try it again under 
similar circumstances. 
SOME COMPULSION. 
After getting them in the hive for the fourth time, 
