The apiary; or, bees, bee-hives, and bee culture [1878] / being a familiar account of the habits of bees, and the most improved methods of management

§ I. HIVING SWARMS.

THE spring is the best period at which to commence an apiary, and swarming time is a good starting-point for the new bee-keeper. The period known as the swarming season is during the months of May and June. With a very forward stock, and in exceedingly fine weather, bees do occasionally swarm in April. The earlier the swarm the greater is its value. If bees swarm in July they seldom gather sufficient to sustain themselves through the winter, though by careful feeding they may easily be kept alive if hived early in the month.

The cause of a swarm leaving the stock hive is that the population has grown too large for it. Swarming is a provision, of Nature for remedying the inconvenience of overcrowding, and is the method whereby the bees seek for space in which to increase their stores. By putting on "super hives" the required relief may, in many cases, be given to them; but should the multiplication of stocks be desired, the bee-keeper will defer increasing the space until the swarm has issued forth.

In many country districts it is a time-honoured custom for the good folks of the village to commence on such occasions a terrible noise of tanging and ringing with frying-pan and key. This is done with the absurd notion that the bees are charmed with the clangorous din, and may by it be induced to settle as near as possible to the source of such sweet sounds. This is, however, quite a mistake: there are other and better means for the purpose. The practice of ringing was originally adopted for a different and far more sensible object—viz., for the purpose of giving notice that a swarm had issued forth, and that the owner was anxious to claim the right of following, even though it should alight on a neighbour's premises. It would be curious to trace how this ancient ceremony has thus got corrupted from the original design.

In case the bees do not speedily after swarming manifest signs of settling, a few handfuls of sand or loose mould may be thrown up into the air so as to fall among the winged throng; they mistake this for rain, and then very quickly determine upon settling. Some persons squirt a little water from a garden engine with the same object. There are, indeed, many ingenious devices used by apiarians for decoying the swarms. Mr. Langstroth mentions a plan of stringing dead bees together, and tying a bunch of them on any shrub or low tree upon which it is desirable that they should alight; another plan is to hang some black woven material near the hive, so that the swarming bees may be led to suppose they see another colony, to which they will hasten to attach themselves. Swarms have a great affinity for each other when they are adrift in the air; but, of course, when the union has been effected, one of the rival queens has to be disposed of. A more ingenious device than any of the above is by means of a mirror to flash a reflection of the sun's rays amongst a swarm, which bewilders the bees and checks their flight. It is manifestly often desirable to use some of these endeavours to induce early settlement, and to prevent, if possible, the bees from clustering in high trees or under the eaves of houses, where it may be difficult to hive them.

Should prompt measures not be taken to hive the bees as soon as the cluster is well formed, there is danger that within one or two hours they may start on a second flight; and this is what the apiarian has so much to dread. If the bees set off a second time it is generally for a long flight, often for miles, so that in such a case it is usually impossible to follow them, and consequently a valuable colony may be irretrievably lost.

Too much care cannot be exercised to keep off the sun from a swarm when it has once settled. If exposed to heat in this way, bees are very likely to decamp. We have frequently stretched matting or sheeting on poles so as to intercept the glare, and thus render their temporary position cool and comfortable. For the same reason the hive used to take them in should not have been standing in the sun.

Two swarms sometimes depart at the same time, and join together; in such a case we recommend that they be treated as one, by putting them into a hive as before described, taking care to give abundant room and not to delay affording access to the super hive or glasses. They will settle their own notions of sovereignty by one queen being destroyed. There are means of separating two swarms, but the operation is a formidable one, and does not always repay even those most accustomed to such manipulation. If after one swarm has started there are signs of another setting out which might mix with it, means may be taken for securing the queen of the second, or sheets may be thrown over the hive.

With regard to preparations for taking a swarm, our advice to the bee-keeper must be the reverse of Mrs. Glass's notable injunction as to the cooking of a hare. Some time before you expect to take a swarm, be sure to have a suitable hive in which to take it, and also every other requisite properly ready. A bee veil or dress will preserve the most sensitive from the possibility of being stung. This article is fully described on page 209. But bees when swarming are in an eminently peaceful frame of mind; having dined sumptuously, they require to be strongly provoked before they will sting. Yet there may be one or two foolish bees who, having neglected to fill their honey-bags, are inclined to vent their ill-humour on the apiarian; or, what is far more likely, the bees of neighbouring hives may be incensed if they see him manifesting unusual excitement. When all is ready the new hive (a straw skep is the most convenient in the first instance, but if that is not at hand a box or anything else will serve as a substitute) is held or placed in an inverted position under the cluster of bees, which the operator detaches from their perch with one or two quick shakes; the floor-board is next placed on the hive, which is then slowly turned up on to its base, and it is well to leave it a short time in the same place, in order to allow of stragglers joining their companions. The operator should make sure that he has not left the queen behind on the branch, as in that case the bees would return to her.

Sometimes swarms alight on trunks of trees or on walls, where it may be difficult to shake or brush them off. The late Mr. Woodbury mentioned an instance of this kind. A swarm clustered among the large branches of a pear tree, just at their point of union with the trunk. In this case he merely supported a straw hive just over the swarm with the left hand, whilst he struck the trunk of the tree with the open palm of the right. The vibration thus produced sent the bees up into the hive with great rapidity, and the entire swarm was speedily hived in the most satisfactory manner. Mr. Langstroth in a similar case fastened a leafy branch above the bees with a gimlet, and then smoked them upwards till clustered upon it. It should be borne in mind that they have always a readier tendency to ascend than to descend. A feather dipped in carbolic acid will very promptly move them, and as they can readily escape from its fumes there is no objection in this case to its use. Another case of settling in an awkward spot is mentioned above (page 78).

If the new swarm is intended for transportation to a distance, it is as well for it to be left at the same spot until evening, provided the sun is shaded from it; but if the hive is meant to stand in or near the same garden, it is better to remove it within half an hour to its permanent position, because so eager are newly swarmed bees for pushing forward the work of furnishing their empty house that they sally forth at once in search of materials. If the removal has been made after they have gone forth they will be unable to find their home in its altered position, in which case they will circle about for hours till they fall and die from exhaustion. But by prompt transference, only the first despatch of scouts will be lost, and these are a good loss, as they might entice the whole colony to desert.

The bee-master should always seek to prevent his labourers from swarming more than once; his policy is rather to encourage the industrious gathering of honey, by keeping a sufficient supply of supers on the hives. Sometimes, however, he may err in putting on the supers too early or unduly late, and the bees will then swarm a second time, instead of making use of the storerooms thus provided. In such a case the clever apiarian, having spread the swarm on the ground, will select the queen, and cause the bees to go back to the hive from whence they came. But this operation requires an amount of apiarian skill which, though it may easily be attained, is greater than is usually possessed.

For a description of the theory and phenomena of swarming, with the signs by which its imminence may be gathered, and a variety of information referring chiefly to the habits and life of the insect, the reader is referred to an earlier article in this work (Chap. I. § xi.).

§ II. TRANSFERRING SWARMS.

Where the permanent hive is of the skep description the swarm may of course be hived into it at once. But with many of the hives now in approved use a process of transference will be necessary. To effect this, place the straw hive, into which we will suppose the bees have been shaken, on the ground, propped up on one side with a brick or a flower-pot, or anything of the sort that may be handy, in order that straggler bees may join the swarm. The spot selected for this should be as shady a one as can be found, near to the place where the swarm settled; or it may be shaded from the rays of the sun by fixing matting on two poles, so as to prevent the heat falling on the hive. Spread a sheet or cloth on the ground where an even surface can be obtained; stake this sheet down at the four corners, to prevent ruts and inequalities, which are great hindrances to the bees going into the hive (Mr. Cheshire's swarming-board, which is simply a large square board to rest on the hive-stand, has its advantages); place the frame hive upon the sheet, without its floor-board, having its front raised on blocks or sticks rather more than an inch long—not more, otherwise the bees will cluster, and attach themselves to the lower part of the frames, instead of going up between. These preparations will perhaps occupy ten minutes, by which time the swarm will have become settled and tolerably quiet. Then, with a sharp rap, precipitate the bees out of the straw hive on to the sheet immediately in front of the frame hive; give the straw hive another knock, so as to dislodge all the bees, and then take it quite away, otherwise they may, if it be left near, perversely choose to go into that, instead of the one desired. In an hour or so, more or less, the whole swarm will have clustered within the frames.

In some cases, as when the swarm has to be brought from a distance and procured from a cottager about whose skill in carrying out these directions there may be misgivings, it is best to give instructions that the swarm be brought home after sunset, and then the foregoing directions for inducing the bees to tenant the frame hive may be better carried out. For ourselves, we much prefer the evening for the purpose. Not after dusk however—in fact no operation of the kind ought to be attempted when it is so dark that the bees, if they should fly, are unable to see where to fly to, for in that case they will be sure to settle upon the operator. A little water sprinkled over them from a watering-pot is likely to induce them to quit the ground and go up into the hive more quickly; a little smoke, or a touch with a twig or feather, may answer the same purpose, and if the feather be dipped in diluted carbolic acid it will more speedily do its work. With a goose wing they may conveniently be swept up. The operator should be protected with the bee dress and other precautions described on page 209.

Mr. Langstroth writes: "If they seem at all reluctant to enter [the new hive], gently scoop up a few of them with a large spoon and shake them close to its entrance. As they go in with fanning wings, they will raise a peculiar note, which communicates to their companions the joyful news that they have found a home; and in a short time the whole swarm will enter, without injury to a single bee." On catching the note the queen speedily follows, and, being longer in limb, she outstrips the others in the race.

In the Journal of Horticulture, Mr. Woodbury says: "If combs be fixed in the frames, the crown-board may be removed and the cluster knocked out of the straw hive on to the top of the exposed frames. The bees will disappear between them with the utmost alacrity, delighted to have met with a ready-furnished dwelling, and the top, or crown-board, having been replaced, the hive should at once be removed to the position it is intended to permanently occupy."

Bees occasionally manifest a dislike to their new hive. The operator will, however, in a very short time be able to ascertain their intentions. If on putting his ear to the hive he catches sounds like gnawing or rubbing, he may be sure that they have commenced work; but if all is still, or they go listlessly about, and hang, as Langstroth puts, it, "with a sort of dogged or supercilious air," it may be gathered that they intend to be off at the first opportunity. In such case, either catch the queen and put her in a cage (page 198), or keep the whole hive in darkness for three days, supplying food, water, and ventilation the while.

If the weather be wet the next day or so after hiving, it will be well to give a little assistance to the new colony in the shape of food, for although, when a swarm leaves a hive, almost every bee composing it has filled itself with honey, we have known not a few instances, in case of very wet weather, in which the whole swarm has been starved for the want of this small but most timely help. A little should be given the first night even in fine weather. Of course, the first work of the bees is to build themselves combs, and these combs being produced by the secretion of wax from honey, a great drain upon their resources immediately begins, and any little outlay at this juncture is therefore abundantly compensated.

§ III. TRANSFERRING OLD STOCKS.

We frequently find that the possessor of a stock of bees in a cottager's common straw hive is desirous of removing the whole stock, with brood and comb, into one of our improved hives, in which the honey may be obtained without the destruction of the bees. We mostly discourage such a transfer, attended as it is with much labour, and requiring a considerable amount of apiarian skill. An old-fashioned hive may very readily be turned into a humane one, simply by cutting out the middle of the top of the hive with a sharp-pointed knife; a piece may thus easily be taken out, so as to leave a round hole two or three inches in diameter, taking care that the knife does not penetrate much below the straw, lest it reach the comb or the bees. There should be ready a round adapting-board, with a corresponding hole, which may be secured on the top by putting four long nails through the same number of holes in the board; then a cap-hive or a glass may be placed on the top, for the purpose of admitting the bees, who will soon crowd therein to work. This hive or glass will form a super or depriving-hive, and can be worked as profitably as most of the improved hives. For the sake of more sightly appearance, an outside case, either of zinc, straw, or wood, may now be dropped over all, and then, if well painted, the whole will form no disfigurement to any flower-garden.

This is, beyond doubt, the easiest way of overcoming the difficulty, but as it may not satisfy all, we will now proceed to describe how a complete transfer of colonies may be effected. No hive offers such facilities for the placing of the combs in a perfectly upright position as does the frame hive. As before remarked, we should be slow to recommend any one to attempt the operation who is not already pretty well accustomed to the handling of bees and acquainted with their habits; but by carefully carrying out the following directions an apt bee-keeper may successfully perform the feat. The first thing is to get the bees away from the combs: there are two ways of doing this—one is by fumigation (see page 207), the other by driving (page 226). Whichever plan may be resorted to, place the bees in the temporary hive on their old stand until you are quite ready to admit them into the frame hive. Have in readiness all the necessary appliances. These consist of a large knife for cutting the hive, a good-sized table on which to lay the brood combs, a basin of water—for washing off honey which may besmear the hands—tape or string to fasten the combs in their frames, a pair of honey-cutters (page 193) for cutting out the combs, jars to hold the honey that runs out, and a feather for brushing off any bees that may remain. It is necessary that the operator should have on his bee dress and india-rubber gloves. If the old skep is not valued the operation will be facilitated by cutting it in half vertically between the two middle combs; but the honey-cutters will accomplish the object without this destruction if it is not desired. Mr. Cheshire's transferring board (page 192) comes in useful here. If one is possessed the frames may be laid upon it, and the combs, which should be cut as large as possible, must then be placed within these. Of course they will not exactly fit, but they must be adjusted, piece by piece, till they bind each other together; the few interstices the bees will soon fill up. If in any of the frames there is not sufficient comb, supply empty comb if it is to hand, and in default of such, fix an additional bottom bar inside the frame—a false bottom as it may be called—at whatever height the supply of comb requires. Drone comb, however, should be used very sparingly, and this only for the outside frames, in which it is not likely to be selected by the queen for breeding purposes, but left for storage of honey. Both filled and partly filled frames must now be made secure by tying pieces of tape or pliable wire (even string will answer) round the whole from top bar to bottom or false bottom; there should be two of these to a frame, or perhaps three if the pieces of comb are small. In two days or so the bees will have made all firm enough for the tape to be dispensed with, which should accordingly be done, as it is in the bees' way. To effect this, dismember first the cells from the tape by means of a sharp knife, and then cut the tape and draw it out. Care should be taken that the combs occupy the same position in the frames as in the hive from which they were extracted, for the cells are not exactly horizontal, but inclined slightly upwards. Supply guide-comb or wax strips to any frames that are wholly unoccupied.

The frames now filled are placed in the hive, when the bees may be let into it in the manner Mr. Woodbury recommends for a swarm (see page 220). It may be as well to keep them confined a few hours, giving them water at the top, by means of a soaked sponge laid on perforated zinc, until they make the combs secure; the object of this being to exclude the bees from other hives, who, if feloniously inclined, might come to rob. For the same reason the operation of adjusting the combs should not be performed in the open air, or the bees from surrounding hives will be sure to come in great numbers to obtain a share of the honey necessarily exposed. It should be done inside a room with the temperature at about 70 degrees—not cold enough to chill the brood, nor yet hot enough to soften the combs. An expert apiarian could perform the operation in less than three-quarters of an hour, and with little loss. A week or so after a swarm has left the old stock is perhaps the very best time for such a removal. In some instances a routing of this kind has a beneficial effect; old stocks of hives that have previously appeared to be dwindling are often aroused to activity by their removal into a fresh domicile. After the winter's doze this is especially the case, say if done on a warm day early in April. We have ourselves frequently shifted the stock from a well-occupied frame hive to a fresh one, in which the bees find a clean floor-board and walls, as well as freedom from insects that may have harboured in crevices during the winter.

§ IV. DRIVING.

Driving is an operation by which bees are induced to vacate an, old settled hive and to enter an empty one. Many apiarians prefer this mode of effecting an exchange of hives to the plan of fumigating the bees. The greatest success attending such a transfer will be in the case of hives well filled with combs that are worked nearly to the floor-board; and it may be remarked that bees are generally so far provident that they leave an open space in which to pass underneath their combs over all the floor of the hive. When the old hive is inverted the bees crawl up the combs, and thus more easily pass up into the new hive, which the operator places over the old one with the intent that they should enter it.

The best time for performing this operation is about the middle of the day, and when the weather is warm: It is essential that the operator be protected with a bee dress and gloves, as before described; and previous to commencing his task he must provide all necessary implements. These are—a couple of hives, both of which should correspond in shape and size with the hive from which the bees are to be driven; a cloth to tie round at the juncture when the new hive is placed on the old one; some string to keep the cloth in its place; an empty pail to receive the top of the old hive, if one of the old conical shape, but if the stock of bees is in a square box-hive with a flat top, a firm stool will be the best; and a tube fumigator with some fungus, which will complete the material of war. The bucket or stool must be placed securely on the ground, about a yard from the place where the full hive stands; then a few puffs of smoke, blown in amongst the bees, will cause them to retreat up amongst the combs. The bee-master must now turn the hive[25] upside down very gently, letting it rest in the pail or on the stool; he then quickly places the empty hive over the full one, and ties the cloth round it, to prevent any escape of the bees. If the cloth be damped it will cling the closer to the hives. The third hive, which should resemble the old one even in colour, is intended to be placed on the stand formerly occupied by the stock, so as to retain the few returning bees which had been absent in the fields. Care must be taken that all crevices through which it is possible for the bees to escape from the united hives should be effectually closed. When the two are fairly united, the operator will proceed by rapping the full hive gently with the hands or a couple of sticks, more particularly on that side where the combs are the most thickly placed—that is, if the hive be not equally filled on all sides. A stock is in the best condition for driving twenty-one days, or thereabouts, after a first swarm has issued; the brood will then have hatched out, the bees will quit more readily, and there will be no loss of larvæ in the cells.

It generally happens that in ten or fifteen minutes the bees regularly commence the ascent; their exodus will be known by the distinct rushing sound which is always noticed when a colony of bees is on the move. The first thing bees do when disturbed is to fill their honey-bags, as they invariably do at swarming time; consequently, after the first rush into the new hive is over, as in the case of a swarm, the "flitting" bees are not much disposed to take wing. When the noise made by the ascending bees has been heard, and has in a great degree subsided, the cloth may be removed, and the old hive, now deserted, may be taken indoors; and if a few bees yet remain they may be brushed off with a feather. An experienced apiarian, on first hearing the rushing noise before mentioned, will not hesitate to tilt the top hive over a little on one side, so that he may watch the bees during the ascent; the queen maybe seen passing up, and if the operator desires to take her away he can secure her by gently taking her between thumb and finger. Those who have become experienced in this operation find that it can safely be performed with the hives fixed open from the first. This is called "open driving," and can be effected with increased facility by sticking two skewers through the ruin of the lower hive in such manner that they shall act as props to keep the upper in a fixed position. Mr. Hunter has, however, devised an improvement upon this, consisting in a wire hinge to connect the two hives, and wire rods to prop them open. The operator thus has both his hands at liberty for other parts of the work.

If the taking of the honey be, the object of the bee-master, then "driving" is manifestly a better plan than resorting to the fumes of sulphur for the purpose; for the bees from whom the store is taken can be joined to stocks that are weak in numbers, with considerable advantage to the future prosperity of the apiary (see next section).

§ V. UNITING COLONIES.

A weak colony may frequently with advantage be added to another, or three may be made into two. And not only may this be done with new swarms, but in autumn, when there is no brood in the combs, it may be carried out also with stocks, the combs that are extracted being taken care of for use when required. After working hours is the best time for this operation. It is not, however, altogether a simple one, as strange bees will not intermix unless measures are taken to overcome their natural hostility to each other. Whatever be the number of hives in an apiary, the bees of each know the smell of their own companions. A single bee that enters the wrong hive will be stung to death, unless possessed of a good booty wherewith to disarm animosity. Similarly on the admixture of entire colonies, if one has some distinct ground of advantage over the other, there must be a method hit upon to deprive it of this or else to purchase its goodwill, for otherwise there will ensue a ferocious and disastrous slaughter. If both are alike frightened all will go well, and the same if both are upon the wing in search of a home; but quite otherwise if one is self-possessed and active in its own abode, while the others are frightened strangers and gorged, and it may be still further demoralised by having lived under an unfertile queen, or with none at all. But if both are cowed alike by a good drumming on the hives, they may be sprinkled so as to possess the same scent, and then taken to a third position and shaken out on to a sheet together, when they will enter the offered hive in harmony. If each colony has a queen, one of them may be searched for and removed.

A slight variation upon this method consists in driving the bees of the one hive (see last section) straightway into the other, having first terrified the bees of the latter by drumming until by their changed note they may be concluded to be thoroughly subdued, and as a consequence gorged with honey; then, before their equanimity is recovered, the others must be joined to them. A third plan is the one usually practised with the Stewarton hive (page 151), and which can be imitated with other hives, by means of ekes or nadirs; this is usually carried out in the evening, when the quietude appears efficacious in settling all differences without the necessity of any other precautions. A fourth is as follows: At dusk, dislodge the bees on to a cloth, sprinkle them with sweet syrup scented with essence of peppermint (as a means of bribing their new hosts to receive them), and place the hive to which it is intended to join them over the mass; they will gradually ascend into the hive placed for them, and early next morning the hive, with its slender stock thus augmented, may be removed to its stand. Should the operator not have been successful in gaining possession of the queen, he may leave it to the bees themselves to decide which queen they will have.

Many persons feel more secure from stinging if they first stupefy the bees by fumigation. These should proceed as follows: Having used the fumigator upon the bees in one hive, as described under that article (page 207), place a sheet on the ground and spread the bees on it; then, with a feather, sort them over, in order to pick out the queen. As soon as she is found, pour the rest of the lethargic swarm from off the sheet back into the inverted hive again. The stupefied bees must now be sprinkled freely with a syrup made of honey and water, or sugar and ale boiled together. Some apiarians recommend a few drops of peppermint to be mixed with the syrup, in order to drown the peculiar odour which is special to each hive of bees; this is more necessary when both hives are fumigated, and whilst under the influence of smoke are well mixed together upon the sheet or board. Such course can be adopted if preferred, and no further instructions will be needed than what are here given; but we will suppose as before that only one is thus operated upon. The hive containing the non-stupefied bees must now be placed on the top of the inverted one, just as the hive was from which the bees in the latter have come. A wet cloth must be fastened round the two hives, so as to prevent any of the bees from escaping. The hives in this position must be placed where they are not likely to be knocked down or meddled with. The fresh bees in the upper hive, attracted by the scent of the bees besmeared with honey, go down and commence licking off the sweets from the sleepy ones. The latter gradually revive, when all get mingled together and ascend in company to the upper hive, where they live as if they had not been separate families. The two hives should be left undisturbed for twenty-four hours, when the upper hive may be removed and placed immediately on the spot from whence it was brought.

The removed queen should be kept alive and fed as long as she will live, in case any harm should befall the sovereign of the other community. If three hives are to be incorporated in two, the only difference will be that the stupefied colony upon the sheet is divided into two empty skeps, the one being covered securely over till the other is adjusted.

§ VI. ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.

Every bee-keeper knows the anxiety he feels in watching and expecting a swarm to come forth, fearful lest his favourites should, "like riches, take wing and fly away"—a mischance that it is desirable to prevent. In our description of natural swarming this will be found fully treated of; we propose here merely to point out how, especially with movable frames, this work of Nature may be assisted. We call it assisted, because artificial swarming should, as nearly as possible, resemble natural swarming; that is, it should be performed at the same time of the year, and when the populous state of the hive makes a division desirable. This is easily known to be the case when bees hang out in clusters at the entrance, wasting their time in enforced idleness instead of being abroad gathering honey. It is also necessary that there should be drones about at the date chosen.

When such is the state of the hive, the advantages of movable-frame hives are strikingly manifested. With the others the bees will often persist in wasting their time as just stated when a swarm would put all to rights; while they are often just as awkward the other way and will send out swarm after swarm which the strength of the hive cannot spare and which in themselves are unable to form colonies capable of self-support and of repelling robber bees. The great expenditure of time and labour by the bee-keeper, with the fear that after all the swarm may come off at a time when he is absent, and thus be perhaps lost, are additional objections to depending upon the natural process. An apiarian may if he pleases give the bees their chance, and then if they do not swarm readily he may resort to artificial means. But if he wishes to dispense with the former altogether he will have to adopt measures of prevention against it, as his forced colony must not be procured till the proper time of natural swarming. Some clip the wings of the queen, which seems a clumsy proceeding at the best—though recommended by high authorities from Virgil to Langstroth—as the royal mother may still wander forth and thus fall to the ground and be lost. Others block the entrance of the hive with some obstruction which only workers can pass, by which means the drones will also be kept at home. If this be the method pursued care must be taken that the obstructions are removed both after sunset and before sunrise to permit of the dragging out of the bodies of such as have fallen among the hourly victims of the gathering season.

The best time for performing the operation is about ten o'clock in the morning of a fine summer's day. The following directions should be carried out: Place ready a counter or bench that is firm and strong, and which has space on it for the inhabited—or, rather, the over-inhabited—frame hive, and the empty one, which is about to be made the receptacle of a separate stock. The operator, attired in his bee dress, and having the other appliances ready, may now open the hive[26] (as described at page 270), and proceed to take out the frames, carefully examining both sides of each comb to find the queen:[27] she is generally in the centre of the hive, so that it is not always needful to take out every one of the frames. As these are examined they may be put into the empty hive, and when the object of the bee-master's search is found he must carefully remove the frame containing her majesty, and may place it temporarily in the empty hive, at one end by itself, or he may make use of the bar-frame holder (Chap. IV. § xi.). Next he must proceed to put the frames back into the old hive, closing up the vacancy caused by the removal of the comb with the queen on it, and leave the empty frame at the end. Then he may place the frame containing the queen, with the few bees that may be upon it, in the centre of the empty hive; and, finally, putting all the other empty frames in, and replacing the lid, he will place this hive in the exact position occupied by the old stock. The bees that are on the' wing will go to the old spot, and, finding the queen there, they will rally round her, and if a time is chosen when a large number are abroad, they will on their return very soon form a sufficient number to constitute a swarm; comb-building will at once begin, the frames will, in a week or so, be filled, and a satisfactory stock will thus be established.

This operation we once performed—exactly as described above except that there was no frame-extracting—with one of our improved cottage hives. Whilst inspecting our bees we caught sight of the queen on the comb in one of the bell glasses. This was a chance not to be missed, and we immediately resolved to form an artificial swarm, for the hive was very full of bees. Besides, being obliged to be away from the apiary most of the week, we were glad of the opportunity of so easily establishing a colony without the uncertainty and trouble of hiving a natural swarm. In the first place we slid a tin under the bell glass, and, removing the stock hive from underneath, we took it a few feet away; then we placed an empty improved cottage hive where the old stock had stood, and put the glass of comb containing the queen and a few bees over one of the holes in the crown of this new empty hive. The bees that were left abroad belonging to the old stock returned as usual to their old entrance as they supposed; soon a sufficient number formed a large cluster in the hive and began comb-building, the queen remaining in the glass until the cells below were sufficiently numerous for her to deposit her eggs in them. The experiment answered exceedingly well. Both hives prospered: the old hive either had some princesses coming forward to supply the loss of the queen, or the bees used the power that they possess of raising a queen from worker brood in the manner we have previously described (page 16).

The foregoing account illustrates the successful formation of an artificial swarm; but, with a cottage hive, gaining possession of the queen is on this method quite a matter of chance. With a movable-frame hive she can at any suitable time be found.

Precisely the same plan is to be adopted with the old stock in the frame hive as we have described in the case of the cottage, that is, to remove it some few paces off: when the hives are in a bee-house a similar result may be obtained by placing the new swarm for a day or two so as to be reached by the same entrance as the old stock, and the latter may be removed to one close by. Some apiarians recommend that a space be left between the two hives, by arranging them on the right and left of the old entrance, in order that too large a proportion of bees should not enter the new hive at the old position, to the impoverishment of the other. But we have found the mode adopted with the cottage hive answer so well that we see no reason for recommending any different plan.

It is the office of the bee-master to assist, not in the least degree to oppose, Nature. We know that when a natural swarm issues forth it has its queen, and when located in a new abode it commences building worker combs, leaving the building of the few requisite drone combs to a later period. But if a division of the hive should be made, by putting half the combs in one hive and half in another, the hive that is either queenless or contains an embryo queen will busy itself with building only drone comb (see page 17); thus a number of receptacles for useless bees are provided, while all the time the colony is rapidly dying off from the wear-and-tear of the working season.

In the plan we have recommended for forming two separate families we nearly follow the natural course of things; the comb that the queen is upon is the only one that is taken from the hive, and this vacancy should be filled in by moving the frames together, so as to leave the empty frame at the end. The swarm under the government of the queen construct the combs, and furnish their new abode, as before stated, with worker cells. By adopting the plan above described, the movable-frame hive will prove far superior to any of the dividing-hives, which provide for equal division of the combs.

There are, however, quite a host of other modes of procedure more or less varied from the above, and their number is doubtless capable of almost unlimited extension. Mr. Langstroth, in the tenth chapter of his "Honey Bee," describes a considerable variety of them, nearly all of which are accomplished wholly or in part by the process of driving. The following he particularly recommends as approaching nearest of any to natural swarming. Two hives exactly alike are placed one above the other with their entrances different ways; they have holes made through their floor-boards to allow of communication from the crown-board of whichever for the time occupies the lower position. Free passage being thus given from one to the other, a number of the young bees will use the upper entrance. After some ten days a swarm is driven from the lower and received into the upper, upon which the positions of the hives are reversed, the forced swarm being put below. Most of the mature bees will unite with the swarm from association with the lower entrance; but the young ones which have habituated themselves to the upper one will now cling to the parent stock and form a sufficient strength to keep it properly going. In the course of a few days the upper hive may be placed by the side of the lower, and then, by successive short steps, removed to any other part of the apiary. If it was found that either hive was too weak the positions should be again reversed.

When driving is the method resorted to, it becomes absolutely essential, in forcing a swarm, that the queen should go with the new colony; but on the other hand it is not in this case the object to drive all the bees from the parent stock, but to leave, say, a quarter to preserve warmth for the brood and to raise a new queen. If therefore the queen is not observed in the ascent of the bees after the drumming, those in the swarm must be turned and shaken over in the skep in order to find her (they will not attempt to fly, but only crawl). An inexperienced eye may still fail to detect her, and in that case it will be best to set both hives upon stands for a short time—the new one on the old stand and the old on some other—when within half an hour the one which is fairly quiet may be judged to be possessed of the royal presence. Should this be the old hive it must be again drummed, or the swarm may be returned to it and the operation renewed on a following day. It is, however, only with skep hives that any difficulty of this kind need be apprehended—there is always the power of capturing and transferring the queen from movable frames. When at last she is in the desired hive the swarm is secured, and the after measures depend on the number of bees that have accompanied her. If the stock retains one-half it may be moved to a new position and the swarm take its place upon the old stand. Whichever occupies this latter post will detach largely from the strength of the other, so that the reduction undergone by the parent stock will not be more than it will probably be able to sustain.

As detailed in the above article on "Driving" (page 226), there is a third hive made use of in this case, which has received the bees that returned home during the operation, and these are now added to whichever hive may most require them. Should too many have gone over with the swarm, this latter may be taken away and set in a cool airy place, while the old hive is carefully restored to its old stand, when the bees which were distractedly flitting in and out of the third hive will at once rush into it, and the impression made upon them by the occurrence will be such that they will now cling to it wherever it is placed. It must be forthwith removed to its intended permanent position, but if still short of bees this must be close at hand, so that if the forced swarm is kept where it is for a day or two a good number may desert to the old stock; its entrance should be closed until sunset as a precaution against robbers, but not so as to stop ventilation. The forced swarm, if not in their permanent hive, must now be treated as an ordinary transfer, and their fixed abode be brought in the evening to the old stand. Some additional covering may be needed at first, and in very cool weather the operation should not be attempted at all. There is no fear of all the bees deserting in the arrangement just suggested, and if inconvenient to complete the operation at once the swarm may be so left, even if there appears no need on account of the old stock.

The process of driving is the only method of obtaining artificial swarms from cottage hives, except in such rare cases of good fortune as the one mentioned on page 236; but even with frame hives it is often practised for the sake of its rapidity. But with an experienced operator the same result can be achieved by simply taking out the frames one by one and jerking off the bees on to the sheet in front of the new permanent hive; that on which the queen is found will be inserted therein just as it is—queen, brood, and workers. If the swarm is being collected in a skep the queen must be taken with the fingers and deposited therein, while the bees from as many frames as are needful must be shaken in after her.

There is sometimes a doubt whether a hive is strong enough to yield a swarm, though apparently overstocked. In such cases there is an excellent plan, devised by Mr. Langstroth and strongly approved by Mr. Cheshire, for obtaining a single swarm out of two hives. On a suitable morning, when large numbers are upon the wing, drum a strong stock till every bee has left it. Place the forced swarm on the old stand: this of course consists of bees in an unfurnished hive, while the old hive has lost all its bees, but retains its brood. Remove this hive to the stand of another strong stock, the hive of which goes to a third spot with the bees inside it at the time. Those of this last which were upon the wing will enter and remain with the first hive and raise a new queen; while sufficient will be transferred with the second stock hive to protect its brood also. Thus the first stock gives no bees to the swarm, but the whole of its brood; the second gives the larger half of its bees. If frame hives are the ones used, the shaking process of the last paragraph may be substituted for drumming; but as it may not be possible to shake off every bee without damaging the combs, a goose wing should be employed to brush off the more tenacious of the occupants.

Other modifications consist in either obtaining one swarm out of four or five hives, or else one less than their own number out of the same. For the former (frame hives) two combs may be taken from each and placed in a new hive, which is then set upon the stand of some strong stock. For the latter, a swarm is forced, after or before working hours, from each of these hives, while another swarm, that has been procured from some bee-keeper a mile or two off, and has been kept in a cool place, is now shaken on to a sheet, sprinkled to keep it from taking wing, and softly scooped up with a saucer and divided equally or as required among the hives that have yielded the swarms. The distance that these bees have come will prevent them from returning to their own home.

§ VII. QUEEN-REARING.

Perhaps the greatest advantage the movable-frame hive possesses is, that a full knowledge, can be attained of its exact state as regards the queen, the population, and the quantity of food in stock. During weather of a genial temperature the combs may on any fine day be inspected, and thus, a knowledge being gained of the deficiency existing in a hive, the necessary means may be adopted for supplying the want. Sometimes such an examination will verify the fears of the bee-keeper, when, having observed that his bees have ceased to carry in pollen, he has thereby received warning that the queen has been lost at some juncture when no successor to the throne could be provided. Such a hive has entered on a downward course and will dwindle away entirely, unless a queen should be given to it, or else some combs containing young brood not many days old (see page 16). By the latter method the bee-keeper will gain an opportunity of seeing the bees set about their wonderful process of raising a queen from the brood thus provided for them. If neither means is practicable the colony must be united to some other hive.