156 
THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 
about five minutes, all are filled to their utmost capacity. 
A prodigious humming is now heard, as they begin to 
mount into the upper box ; and in about fifteen minutes 
from the time the rapping began — if it has been continued 
with but slight intermissions — the mass of the bees, with 
their queen, will hang clustered in the forcing-box, like 
any natural swarm, and may, at the proper time, be readily 
shaken out, on a sheet, in front of their intended hive. 
If the forced swarm could now be put on the old stand, 
and the parent-hive removed to a new place in the Apiary ; 
or if the latter could be returned to its usual position, and 
the former be put somewhere else, it would simplify very 
much the making of artificial swarms. Neither method, 
however, can be pursued without serious loss ; for if the 
position of a colony has been changed by the bee-keeper , 
the bees will not adhere to the new place, as they do 
when they swarm of their own accord. 
In every case when the position of its hive has been 
changed, each bee, as it sallies out, flies with its head 
turned towards it, that by marking the surrounding 
objects, it may find its way back. If, however, the bees 
did not emigrate of their own free will , most of them 
appearing to forget that their location has been changed, 
return to the familiar spot ; for it would seem that, 
“ A ‘ bee removed ’ against its will, 
Is of the same opinion still. ” 
Should the Apiarian, ignorant of this fact, place the 
forced swarm on the old stand, and remove the parent- 
stock to a new place, the latter would lose so many of the 
bees which ought to be retained in it, that most of its 
unsealed brood would perish from neglect. I1J on the 
contrary, he should remove the forced swarm to a new 
position, it would be so depopulated as to be of little value. 
