1890. 



TUB AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



151 



F'roiu the Southland Queen, i 



MORE ABOUT VIRGINS. 



BY L. I.. SiKA(;(;.S. 



Some bee-keepers tell us that queens 

 will fill their hives all right if they 

 are almost touching each other ; that 

 won't work for me. I once arranged 

 my hives in rows that looked nice — 

 they were about three feet apart — now 

 the result ; nearly all young queens 

 got lost. 1 kept trying till I ruined 

 several good colonies, trying to get 

 the queens to laying. I noticed that 

 the hives at the ends of the rows had 

 laying queens in due time, so I 

 thought they must be to close togeth- 

 er along the row, then I commenced 

 scattering the hives. All that I mov- 

 ed out of the rows had their queens 

 mated in due time, so I learned by 

 costly experience that I must keep my 

 hives at least ten feet apart each way, 

 and not have any regular way for the* 

 hives to face; just set them about our 

 yard like we never had any taste for 

 pretty things, for we can't keep bees 

 for the looks ; it is to much trouble 

 and loss. Some say that if queens 

 are kept caged while they are young 

 it injure them. I can't agree; if they 

 are hatched in large cages ?> or 4 in. 

 square, right on the combs so the 

 queen can help her self to the honey 

 as she gets out of the cell. As soon 

 as she hatches raise the cage and let 

 15 or 20 bees run under it with the 

 queen ; now place the cage back over 

 them, press it well into the comb so 

 they can't gnaw under and get out ; 

 be sure there is plenty of unsealed 

 honey in the cage. Now you can take 

 this comb containing the virgin queen, 

 but brush off all the bees that are 

 sticking to the comb, or they may 



cause trouble, or cause you to get 

 stung ; take her to any hive that you 

 want to introduce her to. Catch the 

 queen out of the hive, place this comb 

 containing the virgin queen in the 

 center of the brood nest, close the 

 hive, mark the date on the hive so 

 you will not forget it, in 8 days after 

 that, look in the hive and destroy all 

 queen cells, if they are all sealetl take 

 off your cage and watch the (jueen, if 

 the bees take no notice of hei- she is 

 all right, but if they make fight at 

 her I just smoke lightly, take my 

 corn-cob cage out of my pocket, take 

 cob out of one end, place tliis over 

 the queen, and as soon as she ruus up 

 the side of the cage, lift up the cage 

 and put the cob back in place. One 

 end should have ^ inch inch of soft 

 candy, the other end nothing only a 

 small stopper, through this end put 10 

 or 15 bees with the queen ; now put 

 the cage in the center of brond nest 

 and let them alone for two days ; by 

 that time she will be out. As a rule, 

 introducing virgin queens takes long- 

 er, is all the difference that I see from 

 laying queens. You must be sure there 

 is no way for the bees to raise a queen ; 

 if they have unsealed brood in the 

 hive, you can't depend oa them re- 

 ceiving her. Unless it is swarming 

 time I have nearly as much trouble 

 to get them to receive queen cells. 

 The trouble is they let the queen 

 hatch and then kill her. Son)c bee- 

 keepers say that after the liive has 

 been queeuless 24 hour it is safe to 

 give queen cells ; not so with me, 

 unless it is swarming time. If honey 

 is scarce it is best to wait 5 days. 

 Now you see how much time is lost, 

 so I had rather let my queens hatch 

 first, then introduce as I first describ- 



