HYMENOPTERA. 355 
which you have just given them, and which they will not be long 
in entering.’’* 
A good swarm weighs from four to six pounds; one pound 
contains about four thousand bees. The second swarms weigh 
rarely more than two pounds, and the third still less. You can 
also form artificial swarms by drawing off the bees of one hive into 
another ; an operation which is easy with bell-shaped hives. A 
glance at Fig. 325, which represents the common hive of the 
north of France, that is to say, the bell-shaped, will show how easy 
it is to effect this drawing-off, or pouring out of the bees, by 
joming together at their bases two hives, the one empty, the other 
containing a swarm. In order to have control over the bees during 
the operation, you must slightly stupify them with the smoke of a 
lighted rag. 
Beehives are of a thousand different shapes, each of which has its 
particular advantages. They are made of wood and of straw; and 







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Fig. 327.—Swiss hive. Fig. 328.—Polish hive. 
the shapes used in different countries are very various. We give 
as examples, Figs. 325, 326, 327, 328. 
_ The site, that is, the place where hives stand, is not a 
* “Cours d’Apiculture,” pp. 73, 74. 
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