ght always to be some small trees near the hives, on which the swarms
can cluster, and from which they can be easily gathered. If there are
none, limbs of trees about six feet high, (evergreens are best,) may be
fastened into the ground, a few rods in front of the hives, and they
will answer a very good temporary purpose. It will inspire the
inexperienced Apiarian with much greater confidence, to remember that
almost all the bees in a swarm, have filled themselves with honey,
before leaving the parent stock, and are therefore in a very peaceable
mood. If he is at all timid, or liable, as some are, to suffer severely
from the sting of a single bee, he should, by all means, furnish himself
with the protection of a bee-dress. (See Bee-Dress.)

I shall, in another place, give the best remedies for the relief of a
sting. As soon as the bees have quietly clustered around their queen,
preparation should be made to hive them without any unnecessary delay.
The headlong haste of some Apiarians, which, by throwing them into a
profuse perspiration, renders them very liable to be stung, is
altogether unnecessary. The very fact that the bees have clustered,
after leaving the parent stock, is almost equivalent to a certainty that
they will not leave, for at least one or two hours. All convenient
despatch should be used, however, lest other colonies issue before the
first one is hived, and attempt to add themselves, as they frequently
do, to the first swarm. The proper course to be pursued, in such a case,
will be subsequently explained. If my hives are used, the entrance on
the whole front must be opened, so that the bees may have every chance
to enter as rapidly as possible; and a sheet must be fastened to the
alighting-board, to keep the bees from being separated from each other
or soiled by dirt, for a bee thoroughly covered with dust or dirt, is
almost sure to perish. Unless the bees cluster at a considerable
distance from the place where they are intended to be permanently
stationed, the new hive which receives them may stand on the Protector
in its proper place, with the sheet tacked or pinned to the
alighting-board, and spread out over the mound in front of the entrance.
If the common hives are used, they must generally be carried to the
swarm, and propped up on the sheet, so as to give the bees a free
admission. When the bees alight where they can be easily reached from
the ground, the limb on which they have clustered, should,