.>^ QEOROE W. ^'ORK. Editor. ^^ 



-m. 







Size of Frame to Use in Queen-Rearing-. 



BY G. JI. DOOLITTLE. 



A CORRESPONDENT says he is a reader of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, and requests that I g'ive my views in 

 that journal regarding the size of frame that it is best 

 to use when rearing queens. He wishes to rear queens next 

 year, and is undecided whether to use the regular size frame 

 for that purpose or make a smaller size especially for queen- 

 rearing. And, as he wishes to make the preparations this 

 winter, he is anxious that what I have to say will appear 

 during the winter months, so it may be of use to him. 



This may appear to be a matter of no general interest, 

 but when it is fully understood that those who rear their 

 own queens for general use in the apiary are the most suc- 

 cessful honey-producers of the world, I think more interest 

 will be taken in this part of our pursuit. There is scarcely 

 an apiary in the land but what its owner realizes that he has 

 in it one or two queens of more than ordinary value, but 

 fails to breed for these valuable qualities because he does 

 not understand queen-rearing: and so he lets the "goose 

 which lays the golden egg " die without any special value tci 

 his stock accruing from her life, because he is not informed 

 in the queen-rearing branch of apiculture. No person is an 

 accomplisht apiarist until he is a thorough master of the 

 queen-rearing part of the business. With these few words 

 regarding queen-rearing in general, I will now write regard- 

 ing the size of frame which should be used, according to mv 

 ideas, based on nearly 30 years' experience. 



During these years of trial as to which is the best size 

 of frame to use in queen-rearing-, I have failed to find viu\ 

 special advantage in a .small frame, while, according to mv 

 views, there are many disadvantages; therefore, I have 

 come to the conclusion that it is the part of wisdom to use the 

 same size of frame in any nucleus hive that we are using in 

 the hive which we have adopted for g-eneral • use in the api- 

 ary. As we are used to handling these frames we can handle 

 them more rapidly, and with less injurv to the bees and 

 combs than we can those of an odd size, thus saving time in 

 our work, and avoiding that irritation to the bees which 

 causes them to annoy their keeper by following him around 

 and trying to sting him and everything- else that happens 

 near the hives. 



With me it is much easier and more expeditious to han- 

 dle one or two full-sized frames than three or four small 

 ones. Then the bees work more to our profit where the reg-- 

 ular size of frame is used. If any comb is built by the 

 nuclei it is in just the frames we want it, and always of the 

 size of cells we wish, as these small colonies build only 

 worker-comb where the young queen is left long enough for 

 them to build comb. Where I have had combs in which the 



mice had gnawed holes, or the bees have made holes in them 

 by cutting out moldy pollen, or in which there happens to 

 be some drone-comb of more or less amount which I have 

 removed, I always give them to these nuclei when forming 

 them, and as soon as the young queen commences to lay, 

 the bees will commence to build comb and repair these 

 places, if honey is coming in from the fields, or if fed when 

 no honey is to be obtained. 



By leaving the young queen with them the length of 

 time required, we have our combs all made as good as those 

 built out on foundation, save the cost of foundation and the 

 fuss of putting it in the frames, while such mutilated combs 

 are just as good to form nuclei with as whole combs. 



By a little looking over our combs each year, sorting out 

 all those not being quite up to the standard, and using them 

 as above, all the combs in the apiary can be kept in perfect 



G. A/. DoolittU-. 



order for all time, unless the cells should become so'filled 

 with cocoons as to become too small to rear bees in — a thing 

 which has not happened in my apiary during the past 30 

 years. 



Ag-ain, if we use the regular size of frames, all the 

 honey stored in these will be right where it will be of use to 

 us for any colony in the apiary, either for spring, summer 

 or winter use, so that we do not have to store awav a lot of 



