8 



THE AMERICAN APICULTVRIST. 



depositing eggs largel}', wliere slie 

 is reduced in size and able to fly 

 with tlie new swarm. Wlien al- 

 lowed to swarm she is taking the 

 required rest, while comb is being 

 built, and the new hive is put in 

 readiness for eggs to be deposited 

 more freely later. 



We find a great advantage in 

 having young queens reared and 

 fertilized that they maj' be in readi- 

 ness to introduce as soon as our 

 old queens reach this condition. 

 Every beekeeper should rear a 

 sufficient number of queens during 

 the time of fruit bloom to meet 

 this demand. 



If the old queen, which comes 

 to a point of needed rest, is a 

 superior one and it is desired to 

 hold her, this may be done by 

 changing places with a young queen 

 and allowing her to be held in the 

 nucleus from which the young queen 

 is taken. Jn time to come, when 

 an apiar}' is run to the highest 

 standard of perfection, we shall find 

 that the average queen will not be 

 kept from two to three years as is 

 now the custom. Her work will be 

 accomplished in a much shorter 

 time. Right here is room for an 

 entire article. I can onl3' pause to 

 say that I would never use as a 

 mother, from which to rear queens, 

 one which was being forced to the 

 utmost capacity in depositing eggs. 



I might at this point spend much 

 time in describing the desirability 

 of running a nucleus hive, with the 

 same size frame, at the side of each 

 original stock. This should be 

 started as early in the season as 

 the original stock can spare a comb 



of brood and sufficient bees. If 

 working for box honey, we often 

 find it the most desirable time to 

 start this side hive, when we place 

 the boxes upon the original hive. 



"We have often increased the 

 amount of brood to such an extent 

 that we have two or three combs of 

 brood more in our original stock 

 than are required for boxing. These 

 may be used in starting the nucleus, 

 or, if it has been previously started, 

 such combs will be of untold value 

 in strengthening it. 



These side hives may be used for 

 rearing queens, holding old queens, 

 etc. 



If the sj'stem is practised of 

 making the old hive, which is 

 boxed, queenless to prevent swarm- 

 ing, the queen may be held here 

 and brood taken from it to keep the 

 original stock populous-. In good 

 seasons, these side hives often 

 furnish a good quantit3' of extracted 

 honey. If it is not desirable to 

 increase the number of colonies of 

 bees, the honey may all be ex- 

 tracted and the bees with the young 

 queens, united with the old stock 

 which has been boxed, and the 

 combs cared for, for the following 

 season's use. 



Two stocks may be manipulated 

 side by side in this way, when 

 securing box honey, to marked 

 advantage in preventing swarming. 



When woiking for extracted hon- 

 ey, it is often of equal advan- 

 tage. The side hive may be built up 

 to the proper size and condition, ami 

 the honey entirely extracted from 

 the original stock, and after the lion- 

 ey season is over the bees united 



