fields, (especially if other hives are near,)
they may be moved a slight distance one day, and a little more the next,
and so on, until we have them at last in the desired place.

As persons may sometimes be obliged to move their Apiaries, during the
working season, I will here describe the way by which I was able to
accomplish such a removal, so as to benefit, instead of injuring my
bees. Selecting a pleasant day, I moved, early in the morning, a portion
of my very best stocks. A considerable number of bees from these
colonies, returned in the course of the day to the familiar spot; after
flying about for some time, in search of their hives, (if the weather
had been chilly many of them would have perished,) they at length
entered those standing next to their old homes. More of the strongest
were removed, on the next pleasant day: and this process was repeated,
until at last only one hive was left in the old Apiary. This was then
removed, and only a few bees returned to the old spot. I thus lost no
more bees, in moving a number of hives, than I should have lost in
moving one: and I conducted the process in such a way, as to strengthen
some of my feeble stocks, instead of very seriously diminishing their
scanty numbers. I have known the most serious losses to result from the
removal of an Apiary, conducted in the manner in which a change of
location is usually made.

The process of uniting colonies in my hive, is exceedingly simple. The
combs may, after the two colonies are sprinkled, be at once lifted out
from the one which is to be broken up, and put with all the bees upon
them, directly into the other hive. If the Apiarian judges it best to
save any of his very small colonies, he can confine them to one half or
one third of the central part of the hive, and fill the two empty ends
with straw, shavings, or any good non-conductor. Any one of my frames,
can, in a few minutes, by having tacked to it a thin piece of board or
paste-board, or even an old newspaper, be fashioned into a divider,
which will answer all practical purposes, and if it is stuffed with
cotton waste, &c., it will keep the bees uncommonly warm. If a _very_
small colony is to be preserved over Winter, the queen must be confined,
in the Fall, in a queen cage, to prevent the colony from deserting the
hive.

I shall now show how the bee-keeper who wishes only to keep a given
number of stocks, may do so, and yet secure from that number the largest
quant