THE BEE-KEEPKRS' REVIEW. 



245 



arguments in favor of these small nuclei, 

 the editor of Gleaninj^s has the following 

 comments: — 



It is true, as you say, that miniature 

 queen- fertilizing nuclei have been used 

 by Mr. Alle}' for over forty years; and 

 while his frames are about the size of 

 yours, 4, '2 by 5, he uses three oi them in- 

 stead of one, as do you; and then Mr. 

 AUev emphasizes the importance of plac- 

 ing these nuclei as far apart as the size 

 of the yard and other conditions will per- 

 mit; for he says in his book, young queens 

 will have difficulty enough in locating 

 the right hive, and in this he is strictly 

 correct. Your fertilizing-boxes contain 

 only one frame, and there were six of 

 them on a pair cf stakes, three having 

 entrances on one side and three on the 

 other, and not more than six or seven 

 inches apart. Even if we consider your 

 more improved form of having the fertil- 

 izing-boxes attached to the side of a hive 

 of a populous colony, the close proximity 

 of the entrances is just as objectionable 

 as when the boxes were suspended on a 

 pair of stakes. 



While Mr. .\lley uses these small frames 

 for nuclei (and they certainly have fea- 

 tures that are valuable) he speaks partic- 

 ularh- of the fact that robbers are inclined 

 to molest them, and in this he is exactly 

 right. But he has a plan, he thinks, for 

 circumventing the robbers by dusting 

 flour on the backs of the marauders, trac- 

 ing them to their hive, and then giving 

 them a thorough fumigation with tobacco 

 .smoke. It is true that that colon v, un- 

 der the influence of the narcotic, will not, 

 for the time being, bother the nuclei; but 

 the very moment it recovers it will go 

 back to the stealing business again as 

 vigorously as ever. 



In a word, we may saj* small nuclei are 

 objectionable. First, becau.se the bees 

 are liable to swarm out; .second, they are 

 .so weak they cannot withstand the attack 

 of robbers; and, third, if the entrances are 

 located as close together as you recom- 

 mend, a large perceiitage of the c|ueens 

 will be lost on their fertilizing-trips. I 

 do not deny that expert queen-breeders 

 r</v make the plan work; !)ut, can the}- 

 «lo it flay in and flav out practically? 



We have tried small nuciei and found, 

 after the honey-flow, we had almost inces- 

 sant trouble from robl)ing; and the nu- 

 cleus that is being pestered by robber 

 bees is in anything but a favorable con- 

 dition in which to rear queens. 



Our plan of having queens fertilized 

 permits our using a full-sized brood-frame, 

 and this is a matter of no small impor- 



tance and convenience. The little nucleus 

 frames recommended by Alley require a 

 special hive and special every thing. 

 Under such con<litions it is not practicable 

 to draw on strong colonies for brood or 

 eggs, as can be done when full-sized 

 standard frames are used. Our plan of 

 fertilizing cpieens is as follows: 



A full-sized upper story is divided off 

 lengthwise into three or four bee-tight 

 compartments. The under side is cover- 

 ed with wire cloth, and the dividing par- 

 titions run from the wire cloth clear up 

 to the cover. Each nucleus has a small 

 entrance, and a doorstep on one side 

 or end. One nucleus will have one side 

 for an entrance, one of the inner ones 

 one end, the other inner one the other 

 end, and the other outer nucleus the re- 

 maining side. By this plan there is only 

 one entrance on a side or end, and each 

 points to one of the four points of the 

 compass. One of these fertilizing-supers, 

 or upper stories, is put on top of a strong 

 colony. A frame of hatching brood, or 

 j'oung brood and eggs, with adhering bees 

 is put into each compartment. Cells are 

 then given to each nucleus, or young vir- 

 gins are run in. The warnUli of the 

 strong colony below rises up through the 

 wire cloth, and gives the four little clus- 

 ters of bees all the heat they require. 

 The several entrances pointing in four 

 directions offer little or no confusion, and 

 the queens come back from their flights 

 and are fertilized with hardl}- a failure. 



But you ask. ".\re not six queens better 

 than four.'" Yes, if you can average 

 that. But when one takes pains to have 

 cells prepared and reared in stnong colo- 

 nies he can not very well afford to lose 

 the product of four good cells frotn a valu- 

 able breeding queen. .A strong, vigorotis 

 virgin, from a choice mother, ought to V)e 

 worth half the money she would bring if 

 fertilized. 



In the ca.se of Mr. Laws he succeeded 

 in getting thirty queens out of sixty cells. 



He is an expert queen-breeder; but in 

 our own yards we should feel that the 

 I0.SS of thirt_v virgins (or 50 per cent) 

 would be such that all the profits would 

 go glimmering. Of course, we do not 

 succeed in getting rt// of our virgins fer- 

 tilized; but if we should lose 50 or even 

 40 per cent, as you .seem to imply you 

 might lose by your plan, we should con- 

 sider it as too large a percentage to be at 

 all considered, and the plan a failure. 



I don't like to come (town on the small 

 nuclei, but I believe that they will prove 

 only a di.sapointment and a vexation of 

 spirit, for the average bee-keeper. If I 

 am wrong, I hope my friends will come 



