262 
SUMMER. 
queen becomes barren from old age, I presume has 
never yet been fully determined. 
A friend of mine has had a stock in a large room 
eight years, that has never swarmed, and is still pros- 
perous ! I think it very probable that this queen will 
gradually decay, and possibly become barren, some 
weeks before she dies ; if so, this stock will soon die 
off. A few such cases will probably occur in swarm- 
ing hives, perhaps one in fifty, but generally such old 
and feeble queens are lost when they leave with the 
swarm, especially in windy weather. As long as they 
are able to go with the swarm, and sometimes when 
they are not, I have found them sufficiently prolific 
for all purposes. I would rather risk their fecundity, 
and hive the swarm, than to allow the bees to return 
to the parent stock, and wait eight or nine days for a 
young queen to mature. A great many will remain 
idle, even if there is room to work in the boxes. 
CHAPTER XYI. 
PRUNING. 
Notwithstanding I have given the method of 
pruning in the chapter on hives, (page 31, Chapter II.) 
it will be necessary to give the tyro in bee-culture a 
few more particulars. The season for doing it is of 
importance. 
DIFFERENT OPINIONS AS TO TIME. 
The month of March has been recommended by 
