THE HONEY-LEE IN NEW ZEALAND. 
51 
that has been given to it, and supposing themselves at 
home in spite of the disorder of the night before, they rush 
out on a rapid flight, and returning from their excursion, 
go back to the place of their ancient domicile ; and thus 
the purpose of fortifying your hives, and of preserving 
them by uniting them, is defeated. I have frequently tried 
to unite distant hives, and always met with this result. 
In Walsh’s British Housekeeper, page 242, we find a 
new method very similar to what has been already given. 
To Prevent Swarming. 
Procure two boards an inch and a half thick', or perhaps 
a little more, and of a size a little larger than the base of 
the hives. Cut a sloping way out of two adjoining sides 
(say the front and right side of one and the front and left 
side of the other, so that when they are placed alongside of 
each other and a hive placed on each board, there is an 
entrance to each hive and a passage also between the two), 
the breadth of the mouth of the hives, and reaching from 
that part to the edge of the board. Before swarming time, 
a hive full of honey is to be placed on one of these, and an 
empty lnve on the other, with a piece of wood cox cnng the 
narrow vacant space between them. Next stop up the door¬ 
way of the full hive, so that the bees cannot avoid passing 
out through the empty one, and shift both on the foot¬ 
board until the new entrance is opposite the situation of 
the old one, when by sprinkling a little honey, the bees 
soon become reconciled to the change. In this way double 
the former room is given, while the queen and her nurses 
set to work to rear a fresh brood, and the honey stoiers fill 
the new hive with honey. When this last is also filled, it 
must be removed in the following manner :—A ^ fine day 
should be selected for this purpose, when most ol the bees 
are out at work ; then cut off the passage between the two 
hives by si ip ping* a piece of metal or wood between them. 
Slip the old entrance back to its old place, and stop up the 
new one. At this time, if there is a great commotion m 
the new hive, it is a sign that the queen is there, and it is 
necessary to postpone the removal till she has left it, m 
which case the separation must be removed. But usually 
