46 
never be practiced unless the hive be nearly full of bees 
and a favorable honey season. The bee-master should 
a!ways select a peasant morning for their division If 
\ m u swarm . ln g is to be practiced, arrangements 
Stout Zh r ea i ly i? ring ’ ' vhen tLe hives a ° rc ** 
set out, Each lave should occupy a separate bench or 
platform, and scattered as much as possible in the g ar - 
den or field • if there are no trees to shade them, the 
open air will answer every purpose. The kind of benches 
r stands I make use of will be found described and ex- 
plained in another chapter. 
When a swarm is to be dividecl it should first be fum- 
igated with two or three blasts of smoke, and then slipped 
along to one end of the bench. Then place an empty 
hive by the side (looking as much as possible like the 
hive to be divided.)^ The cap and boxes should bo re- 
moved, and one half of the combs taken out and trans 
oomb.) Each hive should then be filled with the empty 
•ombs, or with frames without combs, and the boxes and 
ps replaced. Great care should always be observed 
^s SO nis is t f°f COmb 1 S , iU bo !^ hives contain worker 
eggs. This is to furnish bees with the means of rearing 
another Queen. Then it matters not which hive the old 
Queen occupies, as they will readily rear one in the hive 
where she is not. The Hive, in every instance before 
diTid ng, should occupy the centre of the bench, other- 
wise the bees would not stay in the new hive. Putting 
two hives in the place of one hive rather confuses thenf 
Should any of the bees from the new hive enter the old 
n ikoTl < ! bab y a f - W ? f those from the old hive might 
make the same mistake ; so it would make an even thL 
m the end. No fighting would take place in either hive* 
as the bees were formerly of the same family, and as 
