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them singly until but one queen is left in the hive; and this actually does occur often. However, there are differences between bee-colonies, as there are between individual people, and every young queen does not seem blood-thirsty; or perhaps in some instances the citizens restrain her from carrying out her murderous intent, and try to get rid of her by sending her forth with as many followers as can well be spared from the parent colony. Other queens may issue, and if this charitable instinct still persists, another and still another swarm may be sent out. This misguided kindness to young queens is as demoralising to the colony as unwise giving of alms is in the human world, and finally a swarm may be sent off so small that a teacup would hold it. Of course, this means certain death to all of its members. Finally the limit of endurance is reached, and with the last possible swarm are sent out all the young queens left in the hive save the one retained as queen mother. Whether the workers send out these burdensome members of royalty as a measure of good riddance, or whether in their excitement they fail to guard the queen cells and so let them out and they voluntarily join the procession, is not as yet surely ascertained. One of the formalities of the after-swarm is that before it occurs the queen sounds her pibroch, a tune which probably excites her listening subjects to rash departure. The bee-keeper gets to know this sound very well, and when he hears it, he knows that an after-swarm will issue very soon unless he does something immediately to