NUCLEUS. 



315 



NUCLEUS. 



In 1892 the writer, witliout any special ef- 

 fort, reared all tlie queens, and increased an 

 apiary from 10 colonies, some of which were 

 almost nuclei, to about 85 good colonies that 

 went into winter quarters. They had no 

 enijity combs, ])ut they were given full sheets 

 of foundation. They were not fed, but made 

 to depend entirely on natural sources for 

 tlieir supply. Had he fed after the honey 

 season, and given empty combs, he might 

 have made donble the increase. 



CONFINING TO KEEP THE IJEES IN. 



Another method, lirst introduced to the 

 bee-keeping world by Mr. W. W. Somerford, 

 is reported to give such good results that we 

 are glad to place the plan before the readers 

 of this work. 



To begin with, remove the queens or cage them in 

 aU your fancy stock, after getting the brood-ue.st 

 weU fiUed with brood (the more brood the better — 8 or 

 10 frames in a hive if possible). Wait ten days after re- 

 moving the queen, when the bees will generally have 

 cells on each and every comb, and be in a broody or 

 listless condition, waiting for cells to hatch. Divide 

 and remove the frames quietly, giving each new hive 

 two frames of brood and all adhering bees, and one 

 good frame of honey, using it for a division-board 

 (and, by the way, such division-boards are to my no- 

 tion the best in the world); put the two frames of 

 brood and bees next to the wall of the hive, and let 

 the honey-frame be the third from the side of hive. 

 Be sure to see that you have at least one good ripe- 

 looking cell in each new hive, or division, and don't 

 forget the frame of honey. As soon as each division is 

 made, stop the entrance of the hive by stuffing it full of 

 green moss. If you haven't any green moss, u.se green 

 grass or leaves, and be sure to stuff them in tight — as 

 tight as though you never intended the bees should 

 gnaw out, and be sure there are no cracks or holes 

 that a single bee could get out at; for if there are, 3'our 

 divi.sion will be ruined by all, or nearly all, the bees 

 that can fly leaving it. Each parent colony should 

 make four or five good divisions that will make boom- 



ing colonies in 40 or 50 day.s, and I have had them the 

 best in the apiary in less time. I.,eave or loo.se the 

 old queen on the old stand (if not too old), and the 

 bees from it will work straight ahead, as they <^on't 

 have to be confined to make them stay at home. 



Don't be uneasy about the divisions that are .stopped 

 up, unle.ss you failed to .stuff the entrances well, for 

 they will not smother, but busy themselves gnaw- 

 ing at the moss or gra.ss for two or three days, possi- 

 bly four or five, if you have done an extra good job 

 at stuffing the entrance. At the end of that time you 

 will find they have all gnawed out so as to secure egress 

 and ingress. Then you can move enough of the gra.ss 

 or moss to give them a clean entrance, IJ^ or 2 inches 

 wide; and by looking into them you will be aston- 

 ished at the quantity of bees you have in each hive 

 (and they, too, well .satisfied), having consumed so 

 much time in gnawing out that the queen had time to 

 hatch and kill off her rivals and be ready for the 

 wedding-trip by the time the entrance is cleared. So, 

 instead of, in a week's time, having a worthless weak 

 division with a chilled inferior queen, as is the case in 

 the old-style way of dividing, where nine-tenths of 

 the bees return to the old hive, you have a strong 

 vigorous queen and a nice little satisfied swarm of 

 bees, ready for business in the way of pulling founda- 

 tion before tliey are three weeks old. 



I have succeeded with nineteen out of twenty divi- 

 sions made in the above way, when I did not even see 

 them until the third week, after dividing as above; 

 and for the average bee-keeper who has out-apiaries 

 I think there is no better way in the world to make 

 increase. If there is I'd like to see or hear of it while 

 the expansion question is being aired. 



In the above method of increasing, you have no 

 queens to buy, no robbers to bother with, and but little 

 time lost, as an expert can make 20 divisions an hour. 



Navasota, Tex. 



For particulars regarding the use of small 

 nuclei for mating queens, see Queen-keau- 



ING. 



Another plan of making two colonies out 

 of one is given under the head of Inckeask, 

 which see. For full consideration of the sub- 

 ject of Bauy Nuclei, see Queen-rearing. 



A PORTION <JK .mi;. STEWARI''.-^ Al'I.VKY, CONTKA COSTrV COl NTV, CAMKORNl.A, 



