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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



85 



which the surviving- queens emerge, are 

 usually sealed before the swarm issues, 

 and of course the others are very liable 

 to be. and no doubt often are, neglected, 

 which may account in a measure for 

 inferior queens from natural cells 

 when man takes a part and saves all ; 

 but if the swarms be hived back and 

 the old queens removed there will 

 be less difference in them than is 

 usually the case when artificial means 

 are resorted to. If cells are present in 

 a crowded hive that has the swarming 

 fever, the weather has to be unfavor- 

 able indeed to prevent the issue of a 

 swarm, and one can usually rest easy 

 without taking the risk of exposing or 

 handling such cells; but under certain 

 conditions I should listen in from six to 

 eight days for the piping of the queens, 

 and make the division as soon as it is 

 heard. The condition of the weather. 

 Just before a prime swarm issues, should 

 be taken in consideration in figuring on 

 the time to expect the second. It is 

 occasionally the case that cells are ripe 

 before the prime swarm leaves the hive, 

 and especially if the weather has been 

 unfavorable for some days, and the 

 swarm issues the first day that is suit- 

 able. Before considering the above 

 impracticable, it should be noticed that 

 the "fussy" part is in bringing about the 

 desire to swarm, which is not so much 

 more trouble than bringing about the 

 conditions to rear queens artificially, 

 where the object is for quality and not 

 to save labor ; and it is not necessary to 

 do much of this if the swarming occurs 

 naturally in time. In this case simply 

 liive the bees back without the queen 

 and save the young queens and cells 

 when it issues the second time, as 

 lieretofore described. 



Those wlio do not care to wait for 

 swarming, or botlier with it. and are 

 not accustomed to rearing queens by 

 any of the plans followed by profes- 

 sionals, can secure very good ones, and 

 liave the bees ready to accept the queens 

 and form nuclei by (illjng a bodv over a 



Strong colony with combs of brood with 

 an excluder between, and ten days latcu- 

 remove the part containing the queen 

 and unsealed brood ; cut out all cells in 

 the part left on the old stand (the body 

 of combs placed over the excluder). Do 

 this in the morning, and in the evening 

 give a comb from the breeders' hive 

 (given to it four or five days before) with 

 the bottom of the comb cut away to the 

 just hatched larvae. More cells will be 

 started by having the bees without a 

 queen or unsealed brood for several 

 hours. As soon as most of the cells are 

 sealed get combs of brood and adhering 

 bees, being sure no queen is given, 

 and place them under the cell builders 

 by raising them up until a comb of 

 brood is given for each cell. Feed liber- 

 ally from the time the comb of larvje is 

 given until the nuclei are formed, so as 

 to avoid the necessity of having to feed 

 the nuclei, besides improving the qual- 

 ity of the queens by so doing the first 

 tive days. TJie tenth day the cells 

 should be cut out and placed in some 

 kind of a nursery or West cages, and as 

 soon as they begin to hatch, form 

 nuclei of the colony by giving a comb of 

 honey and one of brood, and give eacli a 

 queen. If there should not be a comb 

 of honey for each nucleus draw on 

 other colonies, and place them in the 

 parent hive as they are used out. In a 

 day or two all the cells will have hatched, 

 and the colony used up in forming nuclei 

 and the queen that occupied the .stand 

 tan be placed back to catch the return- 

 ing bees and again assume an air of 

 business. 



The bees in the portion of tlic hive 

 that is moved off the stand when the 

 queenless part is prepared for cell- 

 building, sulk for a day or two and then 

 join the cell-builders just when tlicir 

 assistance is most necch'd to irlvc the 

 best results. 



If one should prefer transferring 

 larvai to cell cups the bees may need 

 to be queenless long(>r than if thc^ comb 

 of larva; be given. \\hen thev show 



