498 



Gleanings in Bee Culture 



And, again, the fact that those young 

 queens are at the head of a larger family, 

 and also that they have greater activity in 

 egg-laying, seems to inspire the worker bees 

 to greater activity. So much for young 

 queens. 



HOW TO GET YOUNG QUEENS. 



Bee-keepers as a rule are not particular 

 enough in breeding their queens, usually 

 allowing each colony that swarms to re- 

 queen itself from its natural cells. Such 

 queens are vitally the very best; but vitali- 

 ty is not the only qualification desired. We 

 should have a standard of qualifications, 



swarmed had from 20'^to oO pounds. Why 

 this great difference? First.'' the younger 

 queens, with greater 'vigor for egg-laying, 

 would not allow the bees to clog the brood- 

 nests with honey and j)ollen. If the brood- 

 chamber becomes clogged with honey, bees 

 are slow to start work in the supers, and 

 will usually prepare to swarm (unless they 

 have an exceedingly ", large ■ hive) , before 

 starting their supers. 



To start bees in supers under the above 

 conditions, unseal the honey and drone- 

 brood; cut out cells and cell-clips, if any, or 

 remove two or three combs of brood and 

 honey, and give in their place frames filled 

 with full sheets of foundation. The brood 

 removed will form a good nucleus, which 

 will build itself into a good 'colony by the 

 end of the season where increase is desired. 



and breed Tto that standard. Queens also 

 must be line-bred if we exjiect to improve 

 the strain.lj. This work can best be done by 

 a specialisr,:,ss tbe large producers of honey 



