SWARMING. 
211 
among them till they stopped. How much farther 
they would have gone, if any, would be guessing. 
That it was the same swarm that started three miles 
away, appears almost certain ; the direction was the 
same as seen by all, until they were stopped ; the time 
in the da}' also exactly corresponded. 
We will now return to the issuing of the swarms. 
There will be some emergencies to provide for, and 
some exceptions to notice. 
TWO OR MORE SWARMS LIABLE TO UNITE. 
If we expect to keep many stocks, the chances are 
that two or more may issue at one time ; and when they 
do, they nearly always cluster together (I once knew 
an instance where only three. stocks were kept; they 
all swarmed and clustered together). It is plain that 
the greater the number of stocks, the more such 
chances are multiplied. 
DISADVANTAGE. 
One first swarm, if of the usual size, will contain 
bees enough for profit, yet two such will work together 
without quarrelling, and will store about one-third 
more than either would alone; that is, if each single 
swarm would get 50 lbs., the two together would not 
get over 70 lbs., perhaps less. Here, then, is a loss 
of 30 lbs., besides one of the swarms is about lost for 
another year; because such double swarms are not 
generally any better the next spring as a stock, and 
often not as good as a single one. You will therefore 
see the advantage of keeping the first swarms 
separate. 
