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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



One or two days after the queen has hatch- 

 ed go to each nucleus and examine to see if 

 the bees have accepted her, at the same time 

 removing the cell-protector. If the queen 

 did not hatch, leave the cell and mark it 

 doubtful by putting the slate on the cover 

 with some grass under it. Then examine it 

 next day. If she has not hatched then, or 

 the bees have killed her, lay the slate on top 

 of the cover without the grass. This signi- 

 fies that the nucleus is queenless and needs 

 a cell or a queen. 



Never give a cell to a nucleus that has 

 run out of brood, as it is useless. The bees 

 will always kill the queens. Provide a 

 comb of larvae from another hive, at the 

 same time removing an empty comb. In 

 from eight to ten days (in good weather) 

 after the queen hatches she will be laying. 



CELL-STARTIKG COLONIES. 



After the queen-rearing work is well un- 

 der way, and the stronger colonies have 

 brood in the second stories as well as in the 

 brood-chamber, select one or two good 

 strong colonies which are handy to the 

 workshop ; dequeen them, and use them for 

 drone hives and for starting cells during 

 the whole season. These colonies must be 

 kept well supplied with brood in all stages. 

 As fast as a drone comb is filled with brood, 

 give it to these colonies to care for. Graft 

 the cells in the usual manner and place 

 them in these colonies for one day. The 

 bees will begin drawing out the cell cups 

 and feeding the larvaB ; then put the cells in 

 an upper story of a strong colony with 

 brood in both stories, but with the queen 

 below an excluder. Shift the frames every 

 time new cells are given, putting the frames 

 which are empty below and raising the ones 

 filled with larva? above. These colonies will 

 finish the cells perfectly. 



Do not forget to keep the drone or start- 

 ing hives well supplied with nurse bees. 

 When the flow of nectar is over, and the 

 bees in other colonies begin killing the 

 drones, collect all of the brood and place in 

 these drone hives. Then drones will never 

 be lacking. To get drone comb, place an 

 empty frame in the brood-chamber between 

 two frames of brood, during a flow of nec- 

 tar. Do not put starters in this frame. 

 Always remember that an old queen will 

 lay drone eggs sooner than a young one. 

 Keep a record of the number of the colonies 

 in which the drone combs are placed, so that 

 they may be more easily found. A few sec- 

 onds in making records will save hours of 

 time, needless walking, and labor. Every 

 two days destroy any cells which the drone 

 ^ives slart from their own brood. This is 

 very important. 



FORMING NUCLEI AT HOME. 



Take a frame of brood and a frame of 

 honey, together with the adhering bees, and 

 place both is a nucleus hive. Stop up the 

 entrance, brush in half a frame of young 

 bees and cover with a tight screen for 24 to 

 48 hours — in hot weather, never more than 

 24 hours. Then open the entrances and 

 take ofi' the screens after it is too dark for 

 bees to fly. If this is done earlier, some will 

 be lost and others robbed out. 



Morgan, Ky. 



MIGHTY POOR JUDGMENT 

 THE PART OF THE BEES 



ON 



BY RICHARD S. KIRCHBERGER 



i have kept bees only a few years, and 

 now have 8 colonies. This comb shown in 

 the illustration was found about 150 feet 

 from mj? hives, built in some wild shrub- 

 bery — absolutely in the open, with no pro- 

 tection whatever. It was built on a young 



An unusual amount of comb for an outdoor colony. 



wild black cherry and a wild honeysuckle. 

 The weight of the comb pulled the branches 

 down until the bottom of the comb touched 

 the ground. The comb measured about 16 

 in. long by 12 wide. There was not a parti- 

 cle of honey left in it when found, and the 

 bees, of course, were all frozen. 

 Highland Park, 111. 



