488  The  Honey-bee  and  its  Products,  {'''^i.^r^z^^''^- 
common  American  bee,  which  is  found  generally  throughout  the 
United  States. 
The  raising  of  bees  has,  in  some  instances,  been  quite  profitable. 
The  chief  drawback  being,  that  in  seasons  when  flowers  are  scarce,  the 
bees  are  unable  to  collect  enough  honey  and  bread  to  keep  them  through 
the  winter  months  ;  at  such  times,  it  becomes  necessary  to  feed  them. 
This  is  done  by  melting  home-made  sugar,  which  is  cheaper  than 
honey,  and  placing  it  in  shallow  dishes  under  the  hive  ;  or,  if  the  day 
be  mild,  at  the  entrance  of  it. 
Among  the  many  peculiarities  in  their  habits  may  be  named,  first, 
the  killing  of  the  drones,  or  male  bees.  In  the  spring,  after  the  young 
bees  have  been  hatched  out,  they  pounce  upon  the  drones,  and  these, 
though  much  larger  than  other  bees  (having  no  means  of  defence,  not 
being  provided  with  stings),  are  literally  vanquished. 
Swarming  is  next  in  order.  After  arriving  at  maturity,  these  younger 
bees  collect  on  the  outside  of  the  hive,  and  sometimes  remain  during 
the  summer  in  this  position,  where  they  form  a  comb  filled  with  honey. 
It  is  considered  an  intention  to  swarm  when  they  thus  congregate,  but 
it  is  not  always  a  sure  sign,  as  they  have  been  known  to  return  inside 
the  hive  at  the  approach  of  cool  weather.  June,  July  and  August  are 
the  swarming  months,  and  the  bees  choosing  the  first-named  are 
deemed  the  most  valuable,  they  having  the  greatest  length  of  time  in 
which  to  collect  their  supply.  Those  selecting  the  later  months  gen- 
erally die  off,  unless  fed  during  the  winter,  and  when  the  swarm  is  a 
good  one,  this  method  of  keeping  them  is  resorted  to  ;  but  if  the  hive 
is  small,  and  the  swarm  a  late  one,  the  bees  are  killed  off,  and  the  little 
honey  and  comb  found  in  the  hive  is  extracted.  The  hive  is  some- 
times filled  with  comb,  from  which  we  infer  the  comb  is  all  first  made 
and  afterwards  filled  with  honey. 
In  swarming,  the  bees  generally  select  a  warm,  sunny  afternoon. 
The  first  indication  given  of  their  intention  is  a  humming  sound,  which 
may  be  heard  some  distance,  and,  on  observing  them,  they  are  seen  to 
be  flying  in  every  direction.  The  king  bee,  which  resembles  a  wasp, 
leaves  the  hive  first,  followed  almost  immediately  by  the  young  bees, 
the  older  ones  sometimes  accompanying  them  for  a  while,  then  return- 
ing to  the  hive.  The  person  in  attendance  then  procures  a  bell,  horn, 
or  tin-pan,  and,  by  producing  a  distracting  noise,  causes  the  bees  either 
to  alight  or  flyaway.  In  the  latter  case,  they  go  in  an  almost  direct 
straight  line  to  some  hollow  tree,  which  may  be  situated  several  miles 
