946 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



July 15 



a low price and selling at a high one; but 

 when they one and all remember the services 

 performed by this firm last year, and when 

 they consider that the Stanleys made "no 

 great speck " out of the big deal with all 

 its worry, I think we may safely exonerate 

 them— nay, rather, extend them a vote of 

 thanks, for the market has been stiffer ever 

 since. 



Are Thos. C. Stanley & Son on the market 

 again for comb honey for 1906 ? Really. I 

 do not know. The last talk I had with the 

 junior member was to the effect that they 

 would probably quit the honey-buying busi- 

 ness and go into something more profitable, 

 involving less risk. 



THE BABY-NUCLEUS IDEA NOT NEW. 



Some Experiments with Different Forms and 

 Sizes. 



BY E. F. ATWATER. 



From articles written for the bee-journals 

 of the last few years one might be led to 

 imagine that the "baby nucleus" is some- 

 thing new, but such is not a fact; for at va- 

 rious times in the past many bee-keepers 

 have tested, adopted, and discarded some 

 such arrangement for the economical mat- 

 ing of queens. My own first experience 

 with them was in the late nineties, when I 

 saw them in successful operation at the 

 home apiaries of Mr. Thos. Chantry, then of 

 South Dakota. His fbaby nuclei consisted 

 of a case similar to the old Heddon super, 

 containing four little colonies under one 

 roof, with 4JX4JX1J beeway sections for 

 frames. With these I had partial success 

 in South Dakota and Idaho, so that when 

 E. R. Root called in 1901 I had in operation 

 several such quadruple nuclei of the Chan- 

 try type. 



These proving, on more extended trial, 

 unsatisfactory, my next move was to make 

 frames 8X8J, so that two such frames would 

 go into a standard frame. These were very 

 satisfactory; and if I had been content to 

 end my experiments as to size of nuclei and 

 nucleus frames at that time I would cer- 

 tainly have mated far more queens with less 

 labor and expense during the past three sea- 

 sons. However, to ease a surplus of in- 

 growing ideas I made 50 boxes of the Banks- 

 ton- Laws type, using them one season, 

 mating a good many queens from them ; but 

 they proved to be failures except when ev- 

 ery condition was very favorable. Then, of 

 course, I had to test the little two- comb 

 Pratt box for frames 4x5f; also 50 boxes 

 to hold one ordinary 5|X17§ shallow ex- 

 tracting- frames. 



Let no one imagine that I did not study 

 all available literature in regard to these 

 "monkey fixins'," for I think that few have 

 entered upon the subject with more interest, 

 or given it much more study. 



The cuts herewith show a part of my baby- 

 nucleus mating-yard as it appeared last 



August. The Pratt boxes are seen in the 

 middle row, while the others contain one 

 shallow extracting-comb each. These long 

 one-comb boxes were made so that one side 

 could be removed; and by cleating two such 

 boxes (minus one side each) together, and 

 adding a single wide lid, a fine three-frame 

 nucleus box is the result, and all were so 

 remodeled during the past winter. 



These boxes, by a suitable dividing wall 

 across the middle, may be converted' into 

 double mating boxes for the frames 51X8. 

 This latter size of frame I think will prove 

 best of all— a happy medium: at least I have 

 such confidence in them that I have enough 

 on hand for 100 nuclei. I never use less than 

 a large cupful of bees in a mating-box, and 

 in cool weather a pint will be better, for the 

 100 to 200 bees in the little boxes seldom 

 could or did induce a queen to mate or lay 

 promptly unless weather and nectar-flow 

 were favorable. 



We use two styles of feeders in our mat- 

 ing- boxes. We soon found that Pratt's plan 

 of waxing the lower inside of the hive was 

 a failure here, as no such arrangement will 

 long hold water or feed in this climate. 



A plan that does work very well is to 

 make the bottom-board of | material groov- 

 ed as irtthe Alexander feeder, well waxed. 

 Then squirt the feed right into the en- 

 trance. 



Another good plan is to make a shallow 

 pan, say J inch deep, of roofing- paper (not 

 tarred) of a size to fit loosely on the floor of 

 the nucleus, under the frames. In this pan 

 put a float or a little excelsior, and squirt in 

 the^feed with a Pratt bulb feeder. 



Another useful point— in confining nuclei 

 or full colonies well ventilated, if you must 

 leave for an out-apiary, and can not return 

 in time to release the bees, just fill the en- 

 trance with "Good" candy; or, if this will 

 not retain the bees as long as you wish, 

 make a tin or wooden tube as long as neces- 

 sary; fill with candy, and adjust to the en- 

 trance so that the bees must eat through to 

 get out. 



A SUGGESTION BASED ON THE ALEXANDER 

 PLAN OF MATING. 



As the Alexander plan of mating queens 

 has been very successful with us it has oc- 

 curred to me that two to four nuclei can be 

 built together, the compartments separated 

 by double queen- excluders. In this case 

 brood will probably be necessary in each 

 compartment; and if one queen is wanted, 

 all must be taken, and young virgins or cells 

 introduced to all at one operation. 



Now a point which I think valuable to 

 users of the new 5|x8 nucleus frames. As 

 these frames are unspaced we make use of 

 the "Chantry stick-bar," little bars tbXIX 

 9|, which, when placed between the top- 

 bars of the little frames, not only space them 

 but form, with the top-bars, a warm bee- 

 tight inner cover to the little boxes. If one 

 has to haul these mating-boxes I think it 

 would pay' to add little end- bars to the 

 stick-bar, say two inches deep, making a 



