If in first plan bees enough do not stay, strengthen up more with maturing brood. 
Then no more [illegible], but [illegible] rapidly with boxes, and let honey making be the 
order of the day. 26th Sunday very cool, bees do next to nothing. 
 (27th) cool, beginning to rain. None of my hives with young Queens have had 
them lost except one which was not [illegible]. This hive had blocks etc 
red, and the bees appear to have entered another hive (three being 
between) of the same color. If a hive is well [illegible] I do not think that 
The Queen will be lost, color has a powerful influence, in this case it 
misled the young Queen, will answer admirably to prevent bees from going 
to wrong hive, and will by [illegible] keep Queens all right. When
I had only four or five hives scattered in the protector on which there are 
now 12 the hives being all of one color etc bees made many mistakes 
and kept flying about empty hives, now they fly to all 12 very direct. 
Visited some exceedingly strong stocks in hives of my plan, swarms of this 
[illegible] early, brood hatching, see Moran more importance of having early swarms. 
For the last four days nothing done by bees, too cold, today too wet. Bees have 
Been cross today when opened, so sweetened water used, difficult to get 
along without, have now a number of young Queens of different ages coming 
forward, the young Queen I have seen impregnated quite large and of a very 
decided color, last year noticed some same, am not yet able to tell young 
ones from old ones. Think I clipped wing of an unimpregnated one, bees 
left hive next day. It was a record swarm, first had gone off unnoticed, 
wings ought not to be clipped until bees begin to breed, unless certain. 
 (28th) drove a swarm, it had already swarmed, found [illegible] 
and one hatched and two still sealed up. Drove a very 
heavy hive, had swarmed, took 50 pounds honey, hive almost full of honey
But little brood and little room for it, cells where young bees hatched all 
filled with honey. I am more and more inclining to quite large hives 
and plenty of bees to begin with, driven colony went to work well next 
day. (29th) drove three swarms, one an old one in one of my hives well 
adapted to regular comb, found over 20 Queen cells. Queen just [illegible] 
in one still [illegible] dead, three cells [illegible] together. 30th tried 
to make a driven colony take wing to alight around their Queen, it was 
cool, near the old [illegible] they went back most of them, shall try 
it in a field away from the apiary, think it may succeed there. 
Found caught up bees that have taken wing seen to [illegible]



