ARTIFICIAL SWARMS. 
257 
lieve is entirely original : the importance of which the 
reader can judge. 
ADVANTAGES OF THIS METHOD. 
It is very plain that a queen from such finished cell 
must be ready to deposit eggs several days sooner 
than by any other method that we can adopt. It is 
also clear that if we have a dozen queens depositing 
eggs by the 10th of June, that our bees are increasing 
faster, on the whole, than if but half that number are 
engaged in it for a month later. There is yet another 
advantage. The sooner a young queen can take the 
place of the old one in maternal duties, the less time 
will be lost in breeding, the more bees there will be 
to defend the combs from the moth, and the surest 
guaranty for surplus honey. 
When the bees have filled their sacks, proceed to 
drive them into the upper hive by striking the lower 
one rapidly from five to ten minutes. A loud hum- 
ming will mark their first movement. When you 
think half or two-thirds are out, raise the hive and 
inspect progress. They are not at all disposed to 
sting in this stage of proceeding, even when they 
escape outside. If full of honey, they are seldom pro- 
voked to resentment. The only care will be not to 
crush too many that get between the edges of the 
hives. The loud buzzing is no sign of anger. If your 
swarm is not large enough, continue to drive till it 
is. When done, the new hive should be set on the 
stand of the old one. A few minutes will decide 
whether you have the queen with the swarm, as they 
