154 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



about i^i inches deep, and ^4 square. 

 The pegs have holes in them for hold- 

 ing the candy, and should be dipped in 

 melted wax before being used. If one 

 has them, cartridge shells can be used in- 

 stead. 



To remove the queens one should be 

 provided with a nimiber of cages, made 

 b3' rolling up small pieces of wire cloth 

 into tubes three or four inches long, with 

 one end pressed together or closed, while 

 corks or bits of comb make nice stoppers 

 for the other. If the queens are too 

 young to fly a number of pegs can be 

 withdrawn all along, and the queens 

 allowed to crawl into the cages as they 

 come out, without ever allowing two to 

 clinch, as it almost invariably means 

 death to one. When this is being done 

 the nursery should be lying on its side, 

 and the queens can be distributed by 

 simply allowing them to crawl from the 

 cages down between the combs, or in at 

 the entrance, and give a puff or t^\o of 

 smoke behind them. 



If they are to be kept in a nursery very 

 long, for any purpose, they should be 

 transferred to one minus cells, as the 

 space is small and they are liable to get 

 wedged up between the nursery and cells, 

 and perish in attempting to find a waj' of 

 escape. 



In removing those old enough to fly 

 only one peg should be removed at a 

 time, and the cage should Ije placed right 

 over the hole. The operation can be 

 hastened by inverting the nurserj'. 



In slipping the nursery over the cells 

 (which is held in place by drawing the 

 wire loops already on the bars over the 

 endsj, the tin will cut its way unle.ss an 

 unusual amount of wax has been used in 

 joining them together, as is sometimes 

 the case when the bees are anxious to 

 build comb; and when that is the case 

 they should be separated with a hot, thin 

 knife. 



If the cells instead of queens are to be 

 given to nuclei, the nearer the time of 

 hatching the better, and, as they seldom 

 hatch on the orthodox loth day, if larvte 



of the best age are used, it is quite a con- 

 venience to attach the nursery and feel 

 easy until they do begin to hatch. 



If the division be made when the bees 

 are flying freely all can be shaken from 

 the comb or combs of unsealed brood, 

 and the returning bees will be sufificient 

 to at once protect it. 



As soon as virgin queens reach the 

 combs they begin a search for honey, and 

 bees seldom attack a queen while in the 

 act of securing nourishment. No at- 

 tempt should be made to intfoduce a vir- 

 gin bv simplv releasing her in the hive 

 after she has become very active, whether 

 it be those held in the cells by the bees, 

 as in cases of second swarms, or that have 

 been in a nvirsery, unless it be to the bees 

 surrounding them. 



During a honey flow the feeble, downy- 

 looking misses can be given the same 

 day the laying queen is removed, with a 

 considerable degree of safety. I have 

 thought that it is safer to give them at 

 once, than any time afterwards, before 

 the bees fully realize and reconcile them- 

 selves to their queen less condition. If 

 given to colonies with feeble, old queens 

 thev will often be accepted and com- 

 mence laying with the old queen in the 

 hive, as is the case with supersedures. 



When I have a surplus I often release 

 them in colonies having old queens and 

 allow the bees to take their choice be- 

 tween the old and the young. 



Virgins at the age of two or three days 

 or older can be shipped from the nursery, 

 if escorts from the same hive be used. 



Another consideration in the use of so 

 simple and convenient a nursery, is the 

 saving of time with nuclei. A virgin can 

 be given as soon or sooner than a cell, re- 

 gardless of the conditions, and the time 

 between the giving and hatching of the 

 cells is saved, besides, fine looking cells 

 often fail to hatch, and it is not un- 

 common for others equally fine to fur- 

 nish queens deformed, and that should 

 be discarded instead of consuming valua- 

 ble time in a nucleus. 



While I prefer allowing the bees to 

 have access to the cells until within a day 



