Every bee-keeper knows the anxiety he feels in watching and expecting a swarm to come forth, fearful lest his favourites should, "like riches, take wing and fly away"--a mischance that it is desirable to prevent. In our description of natural swarming this will be found fully treated of; we propose here merely to point out how, especially with movable frames, this work of Nature may be assisted. We call it assisted, because artificial swarming should, as nearly as possible, resemble natural swarming; that is, it should be performed at the same time of the year, and when the populous state of the hive makes a division desirable. This is easily known to be the case when bees hang out in clusters at the entrance, wasting their time in enforced idleness instead of being abroad gathering honey. It is also necessary that there should be drones about at the date chosen. When such is the state of the hive, the advantages of movable-frame hives are strikingly manifested. With the others the bees will often persist in wasting their time as just stated when a swarm would put all to rights; while they are often just as awkward the other way and will send out swarm after swarm which the strength of the hive cannot spare and which in themselves are unable to form colonies capable of self-support and of repelling robber bees. The great expenditure of time and labour by the bee-keeper, with the fear that after all the swarm may come off at a time when he is absent, and thus be perhaps lost, are additional objections to depending upon the natural process. An apiarian may if he pleases give the bees their chance, and then if they do not swarm readily he may resort to artificial means. But if he wishes to dispense with the former altogether he will have to adopt measures of prevention against it, as his forced colony must not be procured till the proper time of natural swarming. Some clip the wings of the queen, which seems a clumsy proceeding at the best--though recommended by high authorities from Virgil to Langstroth--as the royal mother may still wander forth and thus fall to the ground and be lost. Others block the entrance of the hive with some obstruction which only workers can pass, by which means the drones will also be kept at home. If this be the method pursued care must be taken that the obstructions are removed both after sunset and before sunrise to permit of the dragging out of the bodies of such as have fallen among the hourly victims of the gathering season.