A MANUAL OF BEE-KEEPING.
64
Another
Third.
very
serious
swarming, as practised with furnishes
no
objection
common
to
hives,
natural that
is,
it
making vigorous stocks of late The time and money devoted to
facilities for
and small swarms. feeding small colonies are usually wasted, as the larger portion of them never survive the winter, and most of those that do are so enfeebled, as to be of
The more be,
for
of such stocks a
their
man
little
has, the poorer
weakness constantly tempts
his
value.
he will strong
stocks to plunder them.
ARTIFICIAL SWARMING.
To
the perfection of methods of compelling Bees to at will, Bee-masters have long devoted their
swarm
and the use of bar-frame hives offers great and valuable facilities for this purpose. How annoying it is, after having carefully watched a stock apparently ready to swarm for perhaps a week or two, when our attention has been unavoidably withdrawn for a time, to find that the Bees have issued and gone away, no one knows where. Apiarians engaged in business elsewhere than at home, have often but a poor chance of therefore, a knowledge of some hiving their swarms means of artificial swarming is desirable. Straw skeps and frame hives require different procedure for the attention,
;
;
latter there are several plans
former but one, which is driving ; the method of this is explained in its proper chapter, therefore I will now merely point out when it may be resorted to. The most notable time is
when
the Bees hang out
—
this
;
for the
would not happen unless
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