246 
SUMMER. 
lier eggs on them, and the worms soon finish up the 
whole. Yet the bees from the other stocks will gene- 
rally first remove the honey. 
AGE OF BEES INDICATED. 
Hundreds of bee-keepers lose some of their stocks 
in this way, and can assign no reasonable cause. 
“ Why, : ’ say they, “ there wasn’t twenty bees in the 
hive ; it was all full of honey,” or worms, as the case 
may be. “ Only a short time before, it was full of 
bees ; I got three good swarms from it, and it always 
had been first rate, but all at once the bees were 
gone. I don’t understand it !” Such bee-keepers can 
not understand how rapidly a family of bees diminish, 
when there is no queen to replenish with young this 
mortality of the old ones. I doubt whether the 
largest and best family possibly could be made to 
exist six months, without a queen for their renewal, 
except, perhaps, through the winter. 
When standing close on one bench, they are gone 
sooner than if on separate stands, as they often join a 
neighboring hive when they can walk to it. 
NECESSITY OF CARE. 
As this tumult cannot be seen but a few daj’-s at 
most, it is well — yes, it is necessary — to make it a 
duty to glance ' at the hives at this period after 
swarming, every morning ; a glance is sufficient to tell 
you of the fact. Remember to reckon from the date 
of the first issue ; this occurs when the first royal cells 
are sealed over, and is the best criterion as to when 
