Should the old queen be remaining in the hive, she has first to be removed. Having discovered her, by lifting out and examining the frames (see page 271), place a wineglass over her whilst on the comb, and, with a card passed very carefully underneath, she may, with a few of her subjects, be made a prisoner and easily removed. She should be preserved in a small box till the success of the new introduction is ascertained. Then, having enclosed the new queen, with such of her retinue if any as are with her, in the domed wire cage described at page 199, place this cage upon the comb in a spot where there is a little honey, so that she may be independent of the bees for food, and as near the brood as may be; press it into the comb as far as the middle, and close the hive and leave the bees undisturbed for three days--less will mostly suffice, but it is best to be on the safe side. The royal cells that are sure to have been commenced should now be cut away with a penknife, and then the new queen may be carefully released. If the hive is one that permits it, her reception should be watched. If the bees make way for her and caress her with their antennæ, all will be well, and the comb may be gently restored to its position and the hive shut up. But if they cluster in a ball around her, her death is intended; and if they cannot readily be induced to separate they should be taken out and dropped into lukewarm water (which will hurt none of them), and the queen re-encaged for another day or so--that is, if she has not already met her doom, which is all uncertain: Mr. Langstroth says he has had _several_ queens stung to death before they had quitted his fingers! We prefer effecting her release, then shutting up the hive and leaving the bees quietly to themselves. We may remark here with regard to these acts of surrounding a new queen, that they evidently arise from a great number rushing upon her at once for the purpose of stinging her, but that very frequently such purpose is frustrated by the immovable position in which the inner bees are held. Suffocation however will soon effect the same end if the ball be not dispersed. There are cases, on the contrary, in which friendly bees surround a queen to protect her from others, and sometimes the knot is made up of members of both parties, perhaps without enclosing the queen at all. The hissing note will at once distinguish a hostile onset from a protecting rally.