will be later than this rule in some stocks, if
the weather is cool, or not many bees left; it may be ten or twelve
days. I once found it fourteen before I heard it. Also the swarm may
not issue in two or three days after you hear it. The longer the swarm
delays, the louder will be the piping; I have heard it distinctly
twenty feet, by listening attentively when I knew one was thus engaged;
but at first it is rather faint. By putting your ear against the hive
it may be heard even in the middle of the day, or at any time before
issuing. The length of time it may be heard beforehand seems to be
governed again by the yield of honey; when abundant it is common for
them to issue the next day; but when somewhat scarce, they will be much
longer--very often three or four days. In these cases third swarms
seldom occur.

TIME BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD ISSUES.

Piping for third swarms (when they issue) may usually be heard the
evening after the second has left, though one day commonly intervenes
between their issues.

Here my experience is at variance with many writers, who give several
days between the second and third. I do not recollect an instance of
more than three days between, but many in less, several the next, and
one the same day of the second! I had an instance of a swarm losing its
queen (the old one) on its first sally, and returned to wait for the
young ones; when they were ready, an uncommon number of bees were
present; three swarms issued in three days! On the fourth, another came
out and returned; the fifth day it left; making four regular swarms in
five days. On the eighth, the fifth swarm left! Although I never had
five swarms from a stock before, yet I expected this, from the fact of
hearing the piping on the next evening after the fourth one had left.
The piping had continued in this hive from the evening previous to the
first swarm till the last one had left.

NOT ALWAYS TO BE DEPENDED UPON.

One stock in fifteen may commence piping, yet send out no swarm. The
bees will change their minds about coming out, and kill their queens,
or allow the eldest one of them to destroy the others, or some other
way, as they do not always swarm in such circumstances. But when the
piping continues over twenty-four hours, I never knew _but one
failure_! I have known a few (two or three) to commence this piping,
while I supposed the old queen was yet present, and had not left the
hive, on account of bad weather, but a