No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 399 



one hive, to take one or two frames each from several hives, and when 

 you have a hive filled with them to set it in place of a strong colony. 



INCREASE BY NUCLEI. 



A favorite jjlan with many is to commence with a nucleus and 

 let it build up into a full colony, giving it help if needed. 



Here is one way: From a strong colony, A, take two frames of 

 brood and bees, putting them in an empty hive B, and set this in place 

 of A, putting A in a new place. Three days later, do the same thing 

 again, taking two frames of brood to make C, setting C in place of A. 

 Three days later still, repeat the operation, making D, and setting 

 it in place of A. Three days later still, let A and B change places. 

 You now have three good nuclei, and A will be again strong enough 

 so that from time to time you may take from it a frame of brood 

 to strengthen one or other of the nuclei. Each nucleus can rear 

 its own queen from the start, but you will get on faster and have 

 better queens if you give each nucleus a good sealed queen-cell 

 started in a full colony. 



Here is another way, in which you will not need to look elsewhere 

 for queen-cells: From a strong colony of good stock, take two frames 

 of brood with adhering bees and the queen, and put them in a new 

 hive in a new place. Eight or nine days later, divide the old colony 

 up into nuclei, setting each nucleus in a new place, allowing one 

 of the nuclei to take the place that has been occupied by the queen 

 for the last nine days, and setting the hive with the queen back 

 on the old stand. Of course, you will see that each nucleus has 

 two or more good queen-cells in positions where there is no danger 

 of their being chilled, as heretofore advised. 



After reading up the subject under the head of nuclei, you will be 

 ready to form se^veral nuclei by means that you think best. Suppose 

 you have five of these nuclei started. As already instructed, you 

 will have a queen reared in each of them. A week or so after a 

 nucleus is started give it a frame of brood without reference to the 

 condition of its queen. Then a week or ten days later give it another 

 frame. By this time it has a laying queen, if you gave it a mature 

 queen-cell in the first place, and when you give it the frame of brood 

 it will be a gain to give some bees with the brood if they can be 

 spared. It has now four frames of brood, and if it is not too late 

 in the season it ought to be able to build up without further help. 



Very likely you may ask where you are to get frames of brood to 

 give to these nuclei. One way is to take all the brood from a colony 

 and divide it among the nuclei. That is not the best way. Take 

 away only enough to leave at least four frames of brood in each hive 

 from which you draw. If that will not give you as many frames 



