274 



can. Remove all the combs that con- 

 tain brood from No. 2, first shaking off 

 the bees. I think it a mistake to use 

 old bees for rearing queens; Ave also 

 want them strong to commence work on 

 the queen cells at once. 



Get empty combs enough to fill the 

 space made by removing the brood (less 

 1 or 2). Erom hive No. 1 take the comb 

 of hatching eggs, and cut strips from it 

 about y 2 inch wide and as long as con- 

 venient to handle. Take an empty comb 

 and place one of these strips upon it a 

 little below the top bar and parallel with 

 it, in such a way that the cells on one 

 side of the strip will point downward ; 

 gently push the strip against the comb, 

 and stick 1 or 2 pins through the strip 

 into the comb, to hold it in place. 



Use only 1 strip, or row of strips, on 

 a single comb, and this on only 1 side 

 of each of 5 or 6 combs. Hang the 

 combs in the hive with the strips next 

 to you, and put the combs close enough 

 together to hold the strips firmly in 

 place. Close up the hive, giving the 

 bees a chance to fasten these strips, and 

 deposit food for the use of the young 

 larvse, which they will lose no time in 

 doing, having plenty of bees for the 

 work on the start. Leave them just 4 

 days (do not wait until the 5th day, or 

 some of the cells will be sealed) ; then 

 open the hive and loosen each strip from 

 1 comb with the point of a sharp knife, 

 being careful to cut well away from the 

 strip. 



If all the above directions have been 

 closely followed, you will be surprised 

 to see long rows of nice-looking cells 

 nearly ready to seal. Choose the best 

 ones to leave, and " steal " out the larvse 

 from the others, leaving the food, which 

 will be removed by the bees, into the 

 cells of your choice. 



These cells will hatch (or the queen 

 will) on the 13th day from the time the 

 strips were placed in the queenless col- 

 ony. In this way I have never failed to 

 get plenty of well developed queen cells. 

 Those who are not satisfied with their 

 past experiences in queen rearing 

 should try this plan, and they will be 

 surprised at the number of choice queen 

 cells that a good colony will produce. I 

 have had single colonies build 40 and 50 

 cells on these strips of comb, but 20 are 

 the most I have ever permitted to ma- 

 ture, and this was in a colony that had 

 started cells preparatory to swarming. 

 A queen will hatch from each of the 20 

 cells. I have 18 of them now in my 

 yard, and a neighbor has the other two, 

 and every one of them is doing " its 

 duty " in a strong colony of bees. 



The above method may seem slow 

 and tedious before trial, but I do not 



find it so after getting used to it, and I 

 am sure I am paid for my care by get- 

 ting a superior quality of queens, as 

 good as any natural ones can be. I shall 

 hereafter rear all my queens in this way. 



Bees are in good condition here. 

 Hives full of brood, and a good many 

 have sealed drones. We have reason to 

 expect a good report from Michigan the 

 coming season. 



Hubbardston, Mich., April 10, 1880. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Dysentery, or Wintering Troubles. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



It would seem that my article on page 

 541 December number of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, was not worded so 

 as to be understood by all, for it appears 

 that a few of my friends think that I 

 have gone crazy. It also appears that 

 when the first part of that article had 

 been read that the conclusions drawn 

 in the last part were not applied to the 

 first. I generally intend to write my 

 articles on subjects which are of inter- 

 est to the readers during the month in 

 which the Journal is read, but it 

 would seem that I must rise and ex- 

 plain to my friends just where I stand 

 on this dysentery question at once, if 

 I ever expect to gain their ears again. 



On page 211 of Gleanings, our friend, 

 J. Elliott, made a great mistake in put- 

 ting "Doolittle head and shoulders 

 above all other apiarists." It's no won- 

 der he got disgusted with me when he 

 put me where 1 did not belong. If he 

 will put me down to a level with, or a 

 little below, the average bee-keeper, 

 and carefully read the last part of my 

 article over 'again, on page 541 Decem- 

 ber number, 1 think he will see that he 

 and 1 agree exactly as to his swarm 

 over which he put the sod in 1865. I 

 am only commencing to learn a little of 

 this interesting business, "Apiculture," 

 and, as I learn, I write what I learn, so 

 that what is practical may be of use to 

 the readers who know less of the busi- 

 ness than I do; but, kind reader, my 

 articles want sifting. Keep the good, 

 if there is any, and throw the bad away. 

 Butto return : Byplacingawetsod over 

 our bees, as did friend Elliott, poor or 

 soured honey is produced, as well as 

 dampness of the hive. Under these 

 conditions, if his bees stood a confine- 

 ment of 6 weeks without all dying, they 

 did better than we would have ex- 

 pected. Had he placed this sod on them 

 in July, when they could have flown 

 every day, it would have done no harm. 

 On page 21 of the American Bee 



