268 



QUKEN BEARING. 



liable Southern Apiarist, as they can be raised earlier in the 

 South, much more cheaply than in the North. 



513. In an apiary composed of several colonies, there 

 are always some which are not expected to yield much crop, 

 either because their queens are old, or because they are not 

 prolific. Such queens are of very little value, and should be 

 replaced. Select one of these colonies— not the poorest, unless 

 it is populous enough to raise good queens. Kill its queen, 

 and exchange its brood-combs, after having brushed the bees 

 off, for a less number of combs, containing eggs and larvae, 

 from your best queen. It may be well to feed the colonies 

 containing the select queens beforehand, so as to incite the 

 laying of eggs (154) and nursing of the brood. 



514. If you desire to raise queens from eggs (490), or 

 larvse just hatching, prepare for it, by giving your select 

 colony some frames of dry comb, or comb foundation, (6'S'4) 

 a few days ahead, for the queen to lay in. In this case, 

 only those combs that contain eggs and young larvae should 

 be given to the queenless colony. It is always better to give 

 but a small number of brood-combs to the colony intended 

 for queen-raising, and to reduce its space with the division- 

 board (349) ; as they can best keep it warm, in this man- 

 ner, and raise better queens. 



We should bear in mind that the nearer we get the colony 

 that raises queens to the condition of a hive preparing to 

 swarm, the better the queens will be. In a word, the hive 

 in which queens are reared must be well supplied with bees, 

 brood and honey, so the young queens may be well fed and 

 kept warm. 



515. The largest number of queen-cells can be obtained 

 by cutting holes into the combs under the cells containing 

 young larvae or eggs, and feeding the bees plentifully. Some 

 Apiarists hold that, by leaving them without ^rood of any 

 kind for a few hours, they will raise more cells afterwards. 



516. Nine days after the furnishing of the brood to the 

 queenless colony, count the number of queen-cells raised, 

 remembering that one has to be left to the colony that raised 



