Sometimes, unfortunately, a strong and wayward queen will lead off her colony far beyond the precincts of the apiary in which she has been living. The writer has, during the past season (1883), had to regret the vagaries of such a queen, who, the previous year, came into his possession through her abandoning her former master, without giving any clue as to her ownership; and this year, after twice settling, and being once hived, within some two hundred yards of the apiary, took wing again, and was entirely lost, though followed more than half a mile. Few things are more vexing to the bee-keeper than such mishaps; and it becomes necessary to take all precautions which are possible against them. When, therefore, a swarm has once decidedly gathered into a cluster, it should be shaded from the direct rays of the sun; for the excitement, the close massing, combined with the natural warmth of the surrounding air, will raise greatly the temperature of the mass; and, to escape suffocation, a second flight is sometimes undertaken. A wet sheet, an umbrella, a sack supported on stout sticks, and many another simple expedient will answer the purpose of promoting a requisite coolness. Next, immediate preparations should be made for hiving. As a rule, bees, when swarming, are very good-tempered, because they are gorged; and, like Englishmen, improve in disposition under the influence of good food. Some curious stories, indeed, have been told of the perfect inoffensiveness of these insects when thus forming a colony. We will give two of these, narrated by Bevan. A gentleman wishing to hive a swarm that had settled on the branch of an apple-tree, gave the hive in which he was going to place them into the hands of a maid-servant She, being a novice, and somewhat timid, covered her head and shoulders with a cloth, to protect her face. On shaking the tree, most of the bees fell upon the cloth, and quickly crept under it, covering the girl's chest and neck up to her very chin. Her master instantly impressed her with the necessity of being perfectly quiet, and refraining from all buffeting, while he began to search for the queen. Having found her majesty, he gently removed her; but, to his disappointment, the swarm showed no signs of following her. Suspecting at once that there was a second queen in the cluster, he made another search, and found his supposition was correct. On securing her, and placing her with a small cluster of bees in the hive, the rest followed in crowds, till, in two or three minutes, not a single one was left on the girl, who was thus relieved from her anxious, and what might have proved most dangerous position, had she excited and alarmed the insects.