436 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15 



queenless and broodless bees you may have at 

 hand. Be careful, however, that there be no 

 sort of queen with them, virgin or otherwise ; 

 and if they have been over three days queen- 

 less, a little tobacco smoke should be used. 



A very simple way of suppljing the com- 

 partments with young queens is to attach a 

 ripe queen cell to each comb before adjusting 

 the lids ; then hang the frames among 

 queenless and broodless bees with 

 flight-holes corked, and zincs exposed. 

 The bees will at once occupy the com- 

 partments, and in due time a young 

 queen will hatch inside each compart- 

 ment. 



Any queenless bees will soon enter 

 the compartments, and care for the 

 brood and queens ; and as soon as they 

 become settled, feeding may begin. 

 Feed a little sugar syrup (no honey) 

 each day ; and at the end of the fifth, 

 if the weather is fine, remove the 

 frames carefully, bees and all. Close 

 all the entrances so none can escape 

 from the compartments. If the wea- 

 ther is very warm, cover the holes on 

 the flight side with wire net, as shown 

 in the engraving, taking in as you 

 do so, as many bees, that may be on 

 the outside of the boxe?, as possible. 



the other, as shown above by the letters F F F. 

 If the next day or two be fine, each and every 

 queen will leave its little chamber to mate, 

 and just as large a percentage will return safe- 

 ly as by any method of nuclei management 

 ment now in vogue. 



The life of these little colonies may be sus- 

 tained several weeks by feeding lozenges of 



ALI/KV CONFINING SCREEN. 



Take these frames some distance from the 

 old stand, and set them out separately on 

 stakes driven into the ground, thus : 



T 



•F 



T 



F« 



TOP VIEW OF COVER. — G, food feeder. 



Good food every three to five days. 

 Press the food into the holes at the 

 back of each box. The blocks of 

 Benton maiUng-cages may be filled 

 with Good food attached to the back 

 of each compartment by two staples 

 driven into the ends of same and 

 hung on two corresponding wire 

 nails driven into the back lid, as 

 shown in engraving at G, Figs. 2, 3. 

 Examinations for eggs may be 

 made quite well through the back- 

 most holes, which are easily uncov- 

 ered by unhooking the Beaton cage feeders ; 

 and when it is found that the young queens 

 are laying, they should be removed and other 

 young virgins supplied ; or the 

 frames may be again collated and 

 placed on a single stand where the 

 laying queens will keep in good 

 health for an indefinite period. 



In my next letter, with the editor's 

 kind permission I will tell more about 

 these section-box nuclei ; how I man- 

 age to run these miniature colonies 

 through the entire season, taking 

 from them several .laj'ing queens each 

 during the months suitable for queen- 

 rearing ; also how 1 have succeeded 

 informing 40 little colonies from one 

 large stock, and successfully mating 

 nearly every queen given to them. 



fe,..i../ 



SWARTHMORE'S FERTILIZING-FRAMES, WITH NUCLEUS 

 BOXES IN PLACE. 



Toward evening open the flight-hole to each 

 compartment — three on one side and three on 



[As I have explained elsewhere, 

 this is the introductory article of a 

 series giving a new system of queen- 

 rearing. This method of having 

 queens fertilized is something we 

 have not 5'et tried, as it is too early 

 in the season ; but we give it in order that 

 other breeders may put the plan to a test at 



