A swarm is a wonderful sight, for the bees are almost perfectly still, and hang in a glistening mass, clinging to one another by their tiny hooked claws. Sometimes the leading bees of a swarm choose queer places in which to cluster: one lot, for instance, swarmed on to the beard of a gardener, whilst another found a resting-place on the neck of a horse which was standing under some trees! As soon as the bees have swarmed on the branch, or wherever they may have settled, scouts are sent out to look for a suitable place for the new home. They return with news of some spot which they think would serve the purpose. This scout thinks that the hollow tree she has found would be best, but another says that a little cave in the rocks would be better. Meanwhile more scouts are despatched, and when all the different proposals have been considered, and all possible places discussed, it is finally settled where the future home shall be. Headed by the scouts, who now act as guides, the swarm then takes to flight once more, and will not stop until it reaches the chosen spot. Wherever or whatever it may be matters not, for the bees will have to commence at the very beginning of the cycle of home life, and as soon as they are all inside the new home the wax-makers will climb to the highest points, hang in chains, and begin to make the wax for the combs, exactly as we saw in a previous chapter. [Illustration: PLATE XXVII The Bees in their New Home] CHAPTER XXXIII TAKING THE SWARM Bee-keepers watch for the issuing of the swarm, and when it occurs they get ready to take it, so as to fill another hive with bees. Having found where the bees are hanging, an empty hive is brought to the spot and placed under the branch. The bees are then shaken into it, or they may be even gathered in handfuls, or with a spoon, and placed in the new hive (see Plate XXVII.). At the time of swarming bees are practically harmless, for they have taken so much honey that they do not feel disposed to sting. The old straw skeps are often used for taking a swarm, for they may be more conveniently handled than the larger and heavier wooden hives. The hive which is to be their permanent home is placed close at hand too, with a clean white cloth on a board leading to the door in front of it. After the bees have been shaken into the skep they are emptied on to the cloth, and at once commence to walk into their new home (Plate XXVIII.). There are thousands upon thousands of bees in a swarm, and pictures of them going into new hives are shown on Plates XXIX. and XXX. In order to show how harmless the bees are at swarming time, the bee-man in the first picture has taken a handful of them, as we may see. There is an old rhyme which says: “A swarm in May, worth a load of hay, A swarm in June, worth a silver spoon,”