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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



have cells all built iii queenless colonies, 

 in lower stories, as the other is too slow, 

 and rather more uncertain than having 

 them built in queenless colonies. We 

 know that these queenless colonies will 

 accept and finish up a good lot every 

 time, for they are very strong. 



" Where do you get these strong 

 queenless colonies all the time ? Don't 

 they keep running down, and become 

 weak and 'no good?'" No, no. You 

 see 1 have selected ten good, prolific 

 queens whose progeny are good cell- 

 builders. And you see those twenty 

 hives yonder by themselves ? Well, that 

 is my "cell-building apiary." On first 

 starting I made ten of them queenless, 

 letting the other ten lay on until my first 

 batch of cells comes off : then I take 

 those ten select cell-building queens out, 

 and just turn them loose in the queen- 

 less ten that have just completed cells, 

 and they never stop laying ; by this 

 time the brood is beginning to hatch out, 

 and these queens at once fill the hives 

 full of brood again. Then I give to the 

 queenless ten about twenty cell-cups 

 after three days, and they usually finish 

 up about a dozen each, on an average. 

 Then when these get "ripe," as we call 

 it, we take them out and give them 

 their laying queens back, and start cells 

 again as before, and vice versa. If at 

 any time we see these colonies giving 

 way, we slip in a frame of hatching 

 bees from other colonies, and I tell you 

 this works like a charm, and our cells 

 are all built in full colonies. 



" Where do you get the larvte you are 

 putting into those queen-cups ?" I will 

 show you by opening "Old Pet's " hive 

 here. (That is the name of one of the 

 five-banded breeders.) It is a very 

 strong colony ; but you see this queen- 

 excluding division-board? Well, Old 

 Pet is kept over on this side with only 

 three frames, and this side is kept up 

 with brood from other sources. Old Pet 

 is very prolific, and a fine select breeder, 

 and should I let her have her own way, 

 and full access to the whole hive, she 

 would soon lay herself to death, or lay 

 her eggs all out; and by keeping her 

 penned off here, I let her lay only about 

 enough for my needs; hence, she will 

 live four or five years. Now you see 

 this middle frame on her side is a frame 

 of new foundation. Do you see how nice 

 the bees are drawing it out ? And do 

 you see how full of eggs it is? Here I 

 get the young larvte. I cut out a piece 

 of this new comb that contains larvae 

 about one day old from the egg, and 

 shave the cells down close so that I can 

 get the larvEe out easily. Now this is 



ivherc and Jiow I get my queen-larvae, 

 and there will be reared about 2,000 

 queens from "Pet" this year. 



I tried keeping my breeder in a small 

 nucleus, but the bees did not seem to 

 take hold and draw out the foundation 

 fast enough to suit me, and I just keep 

 my breeders in full colonies, and then 

 everything works like a charm. Where 

 we must have lots of queens, we cannot 

 depend upon any slow, uncertain pro- 

 cess. But, as A. I. Root says about his 

 force gardening, we have to force things, 

 and we must have full colonies to do it, 

 that's all. 



"How do you know when these cells 

 will hatch that you are grafting there ?" 

 Why, you see, they were eggs three days 

 and larva?, one day, making four days, 

 and as the queen hatches in 16 days, 

 you see they will hatch in 12 days more. 

 So, to be sure of things, I work them to 

 hatch 11 days hence, and on the tenth 

 day I remove them to nuclei prepared to 

 receive them. 



" What are you going to do with all 

 these cells in this thing ?" You see now 

 my cells are nearly all reared here at 

 home, and these are placed in this little 

 rack with their points all down. Well, 

 the boys have fixed them that way to 

 carry to an out-yard several miles away, 

 and you see these cells hang in this rack 

 just like they did in the hive, and by 

 being careful we can carry them with- 

 out injury four or five miles, and put 

 them into nuclei prepared for them. 



To insert them, I just go along the 

 rows about as fast as I can walk, and by 

 the records on top of the hives I know 

 when I come to one that needs a cell ; I 

 just open it, and place the cell down on 

 the comb near the brood, and gently 

 bring the next comb up just so that it 

 will touch the cell enough to hold it. I 

 do it so quickly that neither a smoker 

 nor veil is needed. I do not stay long 

 enough at a hive to sit down at all. 



Now, here you see the record on this 

 hive — queen sent out to Geo. Smith, Aug. 

 26th ? This is Aug. 29th, so you see 

 the queen has been out three days, and 

 I know that the colony needs a cell. 



"Why do you say "out to Geo. 

 Smith?" You see by that I know ex- 

 actly who gets the queens from each 

 nucleus, and I can tell long before Mr. 

 Smith can, what kind of a queen he has, 

 whether she was pure, and all about her 

 brood, etc. 



" What have you got a big shade over 

 that one hive for, and none over the 

 rest?" That is a powerful colony where 

 I keep my drones. Don't you see them 

 flying thick ? I usually keep this drone- 



