THE AMEBIC AN APIGULTURIST. 



two or three days this hive may be 

 placed where it is to stand, and the 

 entrance kept very small till enough 

 bees have hatched out to protect 

 themselves against any assault. You 

 will see tiiat by this plan tiiere is 

 no more possibility of a queen's be- 

 ing lost than there is any time 

 among her own bees. 



The last imported queen I intro- 

 duc* d with less care, but I sui)pose 

 a Utile more risk. I took some 

 frames of brood with their adhering 

 bees, being sure no queen was with 

 them, put them in an empty hive 

 and put the hive on a new stand. In 

 other words I made a strong nucleus 

 without using au}^ means to make the 

 bees stay where they were put. This 

 was done a day or two before I ex- 

 pected the imported queen. Of course 

 all the old bees returned to their old 

 stand leaving nothing but a lot of 

 queen less young l)ees ready to take 

 up with any queen offered, and all I 

 had to do was to put my queen on the 

 top of the frames and let her run down. 



Marengo, III. 



Number Two. 



EUGENE SECOK. 



Introducinff queens nti important suhjeet — 



JCntroducinf/ queens at siviirming titne — 



Advice to the novice. 



That is really an important ques- 

 tion for the beginner wlio wishes to 

 start right by getting the best bees. 

 Very few are so situated that they 

 can go to a reliable breeder and buy a 

 good queen already introduced and 

 laying, and take the whole thing 

 under his arm and go home happy. 

 Most people are obliged to get their 

 stock of workers from their neighbors, 

 or if not compelled to they ought 

 and then send off and get a queen by 

 mail. That's the sensible way to 

 begin. It's very nice to read how 

 the veterans introduce queens into 

 full colonies and not lose one per 

 cent., but woe to the novice wlK)se 

 hand trembles when he attempts to 



"go and do likewise." P>en if queens 

 don't cost but a dollar apiece, he is 

 apt to be nervous when he thinks of 

 the i)ossibility of never seeing her 

 majesty again. Perhaps he don't 

 care more for the dollar than for the 

 chagrin of a failure, especially when 

 he wants to show his beliind-the-times 

 neighbor ''how to keep bees." In 

 such event the safe way for him to 

 proceed is to form a nucleus with two 

 or three frames well filled with hatch- 

 ing brood from the old colony, con- 

 tract the hive they are put in with 

 division-board ov boards, and the en- 

 trance with blocks or otherwise, so 

 that only a bee or two can get out at a 

 time and to do this a day or two before 

 his queen arrives, so that the old bees 

 will have returned to tiieir old home. 

 None but young bees being left, there 

 is little danger of losing tlie queen if 

 done at swarming time or when bees 

 are prosperous. It is not safe to 

 swap caj)tains in a battle. Bees are 

 jealous of a stranger when a battle 

 for existence is imminent. Having 

 so often learned by experience "how 

 not to do it" by some other method, 

 the above is about the only plan I 

 would recommend to the novice. 



"Lnrger crafts may veiture more, 



But little boats should keep neiir shore." 



Forest City, loiva. 



Number Three. 



E. L. PKATT. 



Introduclnr/ by the catfc system and the 



seventy-two hour plan — J/'inding an 



old queen, etc. 



It is not much of a job to introduce 

 laying queens successfully with the 

 cages and knowledge we have on the 

 sul)ject. The conditions under which 

 new queens are accepted can be 

 summed up in the following few words : 

 Bees must be aware of their queen- 

 less conciit.ion before a fertile queen is 

 given in their presence. They should 

 be allowed to satisfy their cell-build- 

 ing desire before a virgin queen is pre- 

 sented them. 



