156 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



growth by an insufficiency or an inferior 

 quality of food. Queen bees need a 

 full development as "U'ell as cattle. 

 Much discussion has been had relative to 

 rearing queens in full stocks, or in small 

 nuclei ; some claiming that a full stock 

 is the most natural. It will not be dis- 

 cussed here, further than to say that a full 

 supply of nutriment is required to rear 

 good queens ; usually the least trouble 

 and expense, where many queens are to 

 be reared, is to make a little box to rep- 

 resent a movable comb hive. Combs of 

 full size of liive can be used on the same 

 princiiTle, the size makes but little difier- 

 ence, if there are nurse bees enough. It 

 ■would seem that the Creator had designed 

 especially to facilitate the increase of the 

 best stock. In addition to the number of 

 queens provided, when a swarm issues 

 naturally, it is so arranged that they can 

 be increased almost indefinitely. Eggs of 

 fertile ciueen are of two kinds — one pro- 

 duces males, the other females. Means 

 of deciding which will produce drones 

 and which workers are given to all obser- 

 vers, as one kiud is deposited in worker 

 cells, the other in drone cells. Whether 

 the act of depos■iti^^g the egg in the large 

 or small cell decides the sex or not will 

 not now be discussed. One thing is cer- 

 tain, the eggs deposited in the worker 

 cells that ordinarily would produce work- 

 ers, can be converted into queens. When 

 young bees not many days old, are desti- 

 tute of a queen, and arc provided with 

 eggs, or young brood, in season, they at 

 once p/oceed to provide one or more. It 

 is well to wait, before commencing to 

 raise ciueens, until there is a prospect of 

 drones hatching, as soon, at least as the 

 queens do. If bees, to commence with 

 can be procured a half mile away, is bet- 

 ter. Get a quart or thereabouts. Now, 

 from the stock you wish to breed from 

 take a piece of comb containing brood. 

 It is better to get it all of one age. The 

 first or second day after the eggs are 

 hatched, is best. Take out the comb 

 containing brood, and hold it so that the 

 light sliines directly into the bottom of 

 the cells. Find a spot where the eggs are 

 just hutched. Take such ; as queens will 

 mature from them a little sooner than 

 from eggs just laid. The larv;e that 

 have been fed too long as w'orkcrs, can- 

 not be so well developed into queens by 

 nursing. Kew comb is better than old. 

 If old and tough, cut off half the length 

 of the cells witli a knife. Cut out a 

 piece 3 or 4 inches long, -i an inch wide. 

 Then cut from a -large piece — let it be 

 clean — a place that this will just fit. 

 Give an inch space under it. Let the 

 piece of brood be crowded in firm enough 



to hold a few hours, until the bees weld 

 it fast. Combs should contain abundant 

 honey for several days. If bees to raise 

 the queen are taken from ttie home yard, 

 they should be mostly young, if possible. 

 Go to a strong stock m the middle of the 

 day, when most of the old ones are out to 

 work, raise out a comb or two, and shake 

 or brush the bees into a box, made with 

 joints close enough to keep them when 

 the lid is on. Young bees will not be 

 apt to fly. Have a little piece of wire 

 cloth one side somewhere, in hot weather, 

 for ventilation. Make a hole in the bot- 

 tom of the box, in which the combs with 

 the brood ready for the bees are to be 

 put, and one to match in the top of the 

 one with bees. Open both and set the 

 two togeher, and the bees will creep into 

 the upper one W'ith combs and brood. 

 Keep confined for thirty-six hours or 

 more, when they may be allowed to fly 

 out from the stand they are to occupy. 

 More than one piece of brood can be put 

 in the same comb, if n.any are wanted 

 and there are bees enough to take proper 

 care of it all. If brood that is taken for 

 queens is not over two days old from the 

 egg, a queen cannot be matured from it 

 in less than ten days. When the first 

 one matures and comes out of the cell, 

 she makes it her busmess to look up 

 other queen cells the first thing, and des- 

 troy every competitor. If the beekeeper 

 wishes more than one queen, the extra 

 cells may be cut out before any hatch — 

 leaving one. Put those taken out in 

 their natural position into a box, prepared 

 as for brood, using cell instead of brood. 

 Manage as before and a gain of several 

 days will be obtained. As many as there 

 arc cells can be prepared. Care is needed 

 not to bruise the cells, or turn them over 

 roughly. The queens inside may be very 

 tender, and rough handling may kill 

 them. When combs of full size of hive 

 are used, instead of smtill ones, a little 

 more care is needed to keep warm, etc. 

 There will be this advanttige in large 

 combs. The queen can be established in 

 full colony, and there is no trouble in 

 transferring her. When she is once 

 established, and begins to lay, go to a 

 hive that is well filled with sealed brood 

 that needs no further nursing, take one 

 or two, shake oil' the bees, and put them 

 in with the young queen. No fighting 

 will occur with the young bees as they 

 hatch. ISIore combs may be added until 

 it is thought to be strong enough, with 

 what they will rear of their own. When 

 an increase of colonies is desired, instead 

 of surplus honey, they can be increased 

 faster in this way, than in any other. 

 New colonies can be made to assist others 



