No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 397 



stand, filling up the vacant sjiace in each hive with frames tilled 

 with foundation. No matter which half the queen i© in, the other 

 half will have bees enough to rear a queen. 



While it may be all right to do nothing more, leaving the bees 

 entirely to themselves, it will be a much safer plan to take a little 

 more pains, and thus make more sure of success. Let us give a little 

 attention to what will be done when this division is made. Sup- 

 pose the queen is left in the half that remains on the old stand. 

 The bees in the other hive, feeling keenly their queenlessness, will, 

 mostly, within the next fort3^-eiglit hours return to the old stand, 

 leaving so feeble a force of workers that the brood may be chilled, 

 and such a feeble, discouraged lot of bees can not be expected to 

 rear a good queen. The matter may be helped by fastening the bees 

 in the hive for a day or two. thus leaving a stronger force in the hive, 

 but during that day or two no honey will be carried into the hive, 

 and no colony will do its best at queen-rearing when there is no 

 harvesting coming in. 



Suppose the queen is taken with the bees that are moved to the 

 new stand. In that case there will not be the danger of such whole- 

 sale desertion, but still all the field bees for the next two days or 

 so will leave the queen and go back to the old stand. That will 

 work well for the queenless part, giving them a chance to rear 

 a good queen, for the bees will be strong in number, and plenty 

 of honey will be coming in. But it will be about three weeks before 

 the young queen will be laying, and it would be most profitable if 

 the laying queen could be with this stronger force of bees during 

 that time. 



A compromise can be made. We want the young queen to have 

 the best chance, the most important time in her rearing being the 

 time when she is fed in the larval state. So leave the queenless part 

 on the old stand for a week, then let the two hives swap places. 

 That will give the old queen on the old stand the strongest flying 

 force allowing a better chance for work in supers. But after a little 

 experience you will not be likely to use this plan. 



THREE COLONIES FROM TWO. 



A plan that is nearly as simple, and that is at the same time 

 safer as well as giving a better chance for a honey crop, is to use 

 two colonies so as to get a third from them. Suppose two colonies 

 strong in bees, A and B. If conditions can be exactly to our liking, 

 A will have a queen of the best stock, and B will be the strongest 

 colony in the apiary. About the time the clover harvest begins, take 

 from A all its frames except one, brushing the bees back into the 

 hive, and replacing the combs with frames filled with foundation. 

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