The old queen often gets down in the same way; but I would assign another cause for her inability to fly; that is, I would suggest it to be her burden of eggs. EVIDENCE OF THE OLD QUEEN'S LEAVING. That the old queen does leave with the first swarm is indicated by several things: one is, eggs may often be found on the board the next morning; another, when the first swarm has left, and before any of these royal cells hatch, the bees may be driven out and no queen will be found, or you may drive out the bees at the end of three weeks, and the brood of workers will be about all hatched, the drone brood not quite as near. The combs may also contain some eggs, and perhaps some very young larvæ, that have been deposited by the young queen, which begins to lay usually sixteen or eighteen days after the first swarm. This shows a cessation of laying eggs for about two weeks. First swarms will have eggs in the cells as soon as they are made to hold them, which is often within 24 hours after being hived; occasionally a new piece of comb will fall down, and, if the cells are deep enough, they are almost certain to contain eggs. I could add other proof, but the attentive observer will discover it himself. MR. WEEKS' THEORY NOT SATISFACTORY. Mr. J. M. Weeks, in his work on bees, says, "Two causes and two only can be assigned why bees ever swarm: the first, the crowded state of the hive; the second, to avoid the battle of the queens." The first cause producing first swarms, the other second, third, &c. Mr. Colton's patent hive, it is said, can be made to swarm "at any time within two days," merely for want of room. By removing the six boxes attached to it, the bees are compelled to crowd into the main body of the hive, and swarm out in consequence. Now, if merely crowding the hive with bees is the only cause of first swarms, how is it that half or more of mine refused to swarm, when a great many, for want of room, were crowded outside for weeks, and great numbers maturing every day to crowd them still more? To me the reason is plain, that some of the before-mentioned requisites were wanting. Mr. Weeks further says, when the first swarm has left, "not a single queen, in any stage of minority, is left in the old hive; the bees, destitute of a queen, set about constructing several royal cells, take larvæ or eggs and put in them, and feed with royal jelly, and in a few days have a queen." Although I had not had much experience at the time of getting his work, I had some doubts, because I found that all hives that became full and began to run over, did not swarm, and some others swarmed before being quite full; it seemed as if something like a preparation beforehand was requisite. I knew of no means, for a long time, that would decide _positively_; when it occurred to me, if I examined the old stock immediately after the first swarm had left, I should find some preparations if there were any; a thing so simple and easy that I felt