however, their loss has been realized 

 and the bees proceed quietly to repair 

 it by commencing to build a number of 

 queen-cells, each one of which occupies 

 about as much room as 4 or 5 worker 

 cells, having a downward tendency and 

 shaped much like a peanut. 



About 16 days after the eggs are laid, 

 young queens emerge, but as bees will 

 often form queen-cells over larva? 5 or 6 

 days old, we may expect the first queens 

 to issue on the 10th day after the colony 

 was deprived of its queen. We should, 

 therefore, form nucleus colonies the pre- 

 ceding day. We take from every strong 

 colony (according to its strength) 1 or 2 

 frames with hatching brood and adher- 

 ing bees, and replace them with empty 

 combs or comb foundation. Two combs 

 being sufficient for a nucleus colony, we 

 place these in a hive between 2 division 

 boards. All old bees having gone back 

 to their old hives, we proceed to cutout 

 queen cells, using a sharp, thin-bladed 

 pen-knife, leaving % to }4 of an inch 

 of comb all around them so as not to in- 

 jure the young queens inside. A queen 

 cell is placed between the top- bars of 

 the frames of each nucleus, in such a 

 position that one may see on raising the 

 cover whether the cell has hatched. 

 The bees lose no time in fastening and 

 taking care of it. In due time the 

 young queen emerges, is fertilized, and 

 begins her avocation as mother of the 

 colony. She lays her first eggs gener- 

 ally 8 to 12 days after she is hatched. 



We can now let her fill a few combs 

 with eggs, or give some useful work to 

 the colony, according to their strength 

 and the season, such as the building of 

 worker combs or the building out of 

 comb foundation, etc. 



W T hen our honey season is over, we 

 have kept our bees from swarming by 

 the above method and by adding occa- 

 sionally to our nucleus a frame of brood 

 from our strongest colonies, without, 

 however, depriving them of their force 

 of honey-gatherers. If we have manip- 

 ulated properly, a full crop of honey 

 (according to the season) has been se- 

 cured, and Ave have not been troubled 

 with natural swarms. We may now 

 strengthen up our nuclei with sheets of 

 hatching brood and adhering bees from 

 our old colonies which have an abun- 

 dance of brood and stores. 



As every swarm made is more or less 

 at the expense of the honey harvest, we 

 are satisfied with about 1 swarm from 

 every 2 colonies. We make less if we 

 can ; but if swarms are the object, the 

 most ambitious can satisfy themselves 

 by the above method and the aid of comb 

 foundation. 



Another good method of starting 



queen cells is as follows : Divide the 

 colony from which you desire to breed 

 by means of a division board ; lay the 

 entrance blocks in the middle, letting 

 the bees enter on each side of the porti- 

 co, and leaving most of the capped cells 

 on the same side with the queen. All 

 communication between the two sides 

 must be prevented . The queenless part 

 will proceed to build queen cells at once, 

 which will be ready to cut out on the 10th 

 day and be placed in the nuclei as de- 

 scribed above. At least on the 10th day 

 we should begin, as the young queen 

 hatching first will unceremoniously dis- 

 patch every rival queen m the hive, by 

 biting open the cells and introducing 

 her sting, thereby killing the young 

 queen inside. We may continue rear- 

 ing queens in the same hive all the sea- 

 son if we choose, and from the same 

 queen, by changing her from one side to 

 the other. 



The Langstroth hive is well calculated 

 for rearing in it 3 queens at a time, by 

 means of 2 division boards, letting the 

 side swarms fly out from side ventilators, 

 and the middle swarm in front — 3 nuclei 

 in one hive. The advantage of this 

 method is, that any of our combs answer 

 for the nucleus, and after our 3 queens 

 are laying eggs, we may make use of 2 

 of them, take out the division boards, 

 and let the remaining queen take charge 

 of the hive. This queen will be safe 

 among the bees, which will all be of the 

 same scent, and in the same condition. 



C. H. Deane, Kentucky, offered the 

 following resolution, which was adopted 

 unanimously : 



Resolved, That all bee-keepers in this 

 Convention, who feel competent, are 

 hereby requested to write for their local 

 papers on the subject of bee-keeping. 



Mr. Kramer, Ohio, with a hive illus- 

 trated a method by which he had suc- 

 ceeded during the past season in having 

 two queens mated in confinement. It 

 was done by carrying the queen above, 

 into the second story, and placing a 

 wire screen below ; then the drones are 

 imprisoned with the virgin queen in the 

 second story, and a cloth covered over. 

 Each day the cap of the hive is removed 

 to allow the sun to shine on the cloth, 

 and entice the queen and drones to 

 night in the hive. The thanks of the 

 Convention were voted Mr. .Kramer, 

 and he was requested to write an explan- 

 ation of his method for publication. 



Mr. Jones presented the North Ameri- 

 can Bee-Keepers'' Society with a Cyp- 

 rian queen, the same to be placed with 

 Mr. C. F. Muth. the bees to be tested 

 for superiority by him, and a report to 

 be made. 



