140 
THE HIVE AND IIONET-BEE. 
comb, in which to store up any quantity of honey they 
can possibly gather. 
2. Another objection to natural swarming arises from 
the disheartening fact, that bees are liable to swarm so 
often, as to destroy the value of both the parent-stock, 
and its after-swarms. Experienced bee-keepers obviate 
this difficulty, by making one good colony out of two 
second swarms, and returning to the parent-stock all 
swarms after the second, and even this if the season is far 
advanced. Such operations often consume more time 
than they are worth. By removing all the queen-cells but 
one, after the first swarm has left, second swarming may 
be prevented in my hives ; and by removing all but two, 
provision may be made for the issue of second swarms, 
and yet all further swarming be prevented. After-swarms, 
in many instances, have to be returned again and again, 
before one queen is allowed by the bees to destroy the 
others. In this way, a large part of the gathering season 
is wasted; as bees often seem unwilling to work with 
their wonted energy, so long as the pretensions of several 
rival queens are unsettled.* 
3. Another very serious objection to natural swarming, 
as practiced with the common hives, is, that it furnishes no 
facilities for making vigorous stocks of late and small 
swarms. The time and money devoted to feeding small 
* Before Inventing the movable-comb hive, I obviated, as far as possible, the 
evils of after-swarming, by the following plan: the second swarm, as soon as 
hived, was placed on the top of the parent-stock, or so, that the entrances to the old 
and new colonics would be near together, and face the same way. If a third 
swarm issued, it was added, at sunset, to the second swarm, by placing the hive or 
box containing that swarm, on a sheet, and shaking out the third swarm before its 
entrance. In three or four days—sufficient time being given for the young queens 
to become impregnated—the bees in tho after-swarm were added, In the same way, 
to the paront-stock. One queen would quickly kill the other, and the next morn 
ing, the conjoined swarms being on a familiar spot, would work as well as though 
they had never been separated. Tho comb which they had built in tho new hive 
was used in the spare honey-boxes. 
