APRIL 1, 1914 



another batch until it has been returned to 

 its brood and allowed to remain thereon 

 until well re-enforced by more young bees. 

 Tliis is speaking of (he general custom — 

 individual systems, mayhap, modifying it 

 slightly. Jn other words, it lakes the work 

 of about tliirty colonies to produce four 

 hundred cells by commoidy accepted meth- 

 ods; or using one colony six times during a 

 season means that live colonies must be 

 withdrawn from honey-producing, and be 

 devoted to the, task of raising four hundred 

 queens. The cost in dollars and cents you 

 may figure for yourself. 



The improved system is any thing but 

 new in most of its details; but it does have 

 a few features peculiar to itself, and on 

 these features its success to a considerable 

 extent hinges. It is known hereabout as the 

 " Fuller system," having been worked out 

 and brought to success by Mr. 0. F. Fuller, 

 of Blackstone, Mass. 



It is based on the old idea of having cells 

 6uilt in a colony with a laying queen, cells 

 and queen being kept apart by queen-ex- 

 cluding metal. Mr. Fuller's early efforts 

 followed much the lines laid down by Mr. 

 Sladen ; but he soon began to change and 

 modify in his efforts to secure more uni- 

 form results, and it is to some of these 

 changes that his success is due. 



His mechanical appliances are few. He 

 uses a double-walled chaff-packi'd hive wide 

 enough to hold twelve frames, using this 

 size for convenience in manipulation. The 

 hive has a tight partition of queen-exclud- 

 ing metal so placed as to make one com- 

 partment ample for easy h.andling of four 

 frames, and in this chamiv".' the queen is 

 kept. Furtliennor" the i-ntrance to this 

 part is protected by the same sort of ex- 

 cluder metal. The entrance to the cell-con- 

 taining part is not so protected, and in this 

 feature his system is the opposite of all the 

 others, and to it I ascribe much of his suc- 

 cess. Reverse it and his success is no 

 hf'tiL'r than by any of the older plans of a 

 similar nature. 



His other appliances are the common 

 wooden cell-cup holders, metal bars punch- 

 ed with holes to cari-y the wooden cells, and 

 frames in which these are swung, so ready 

 insiaection and handling are secured. So 

 much for the equipment. 



The procedure is as follows : The colony 

 is made strong if not already so. It is strong 

 in the fall, has a young queen, and is win- 

 tered with the dividing partition out, so 

 usually it is booming in the spring. If it 

 is not, it is made so by the addition of 

 brood or young bees or both. When about 

 ready to begin cell-raising, the partition is 



26fi 



init in, and the queen is shut into her 

 com[)artment and given four combs, choos- 

 ing those wliich will give her some chance 

 to lay, but not much. On the other side are 

 several combs of brood, honey, and pollen. 

 At the start of the season Mr. Fuller some- 

 times helps matters along by filling this 

 compartment with combs of emerging brood 

 by adding two or three from other colonies. 

 At the end of a week all eggs in the " cell 

 chamber " have hatched, all larvae are too 

 old to be troublesome, and some queen-cells 

 may have been started. The combs are 

 carefully examined, and all such cells are 

 destroyed. One comb is now removed, and 

 a frame iiolding the cell cups put in its 

 place. In it are two dozen or more of the 

 wax cups. 



Now begins the impor';!iit part: and 

 unless these details, which I will italicize, 

 are carefully observed, failure will pretty 

 surely follow. 



Put the cups at least one comb-space 

 from the partition, and never fail to have a 

 comb between c-lls and the partition. In a 

 few hours, more oi less, a dozen to twenty 

 of the cups u:^- grafted and returned ta 

 their places, and every other day more cups 

 are graflrd. As they reach maturity they 

 are slipped into cages, hung in the same 

 cliamber, and the cells are allowed to hatch 

 tliere if no nuclei are ready. The presence 

 of caged virgins has no effect on the cell- 

 building. As the season advances and the 

 number of cells increases more room is 

 given in the cell-chamber, if needed, by 

 removal of a comb or two. If additional 

 frames of cell cups are used, be sure to have 

 a comb of brood between it and the other 

 cell-cup frame. 



As combs in the cell-chamber become 

 empty of brood, they are exchanged for 

 combs of sealed brood, either from the 

 queen's compartment or from some other 

 colony. Combs contaimng eggs or young 

 larvae must never be put in the chamber 

 with the cells. To make tliis easy, Mr. 

 Fuller is accustomed to keep a few frames 

 of brood in an upper chamber of some 

 colony, and over an excluder, getting them 

 from the queen's chamber or from some 

 other colony. 



The manipulation of the queen's chamber 

 is important. She must never have much 

 room for laying. Mr. Fuller often had 

 trouble in the colonies until this was learn- 

 ed. In other words, the colony is always 

 full of young nurse bees and short of babies 

 to feed. Supersedure conditions ! 



To do this to the best advantage, it is 

 necessary to draw some of the sealed brood 

 from other colonies, so that, strictly speak- 



