and tts Economic Management. 67 
To be prolific a queen must not simply keep pace with 
her workers while building up in preparation for the 
season, but must actually force them to make room for her. 
Such queens are to be had, and with them no “ brood 
spreading” by the apiarist is necessary. A well-developed 
queen is more hardy and energetic than a smaller one; 
and, as a rule,-will get mated in risky weather when 
twenty inferior queens fail to meet a drone. 
The finest queens are obtained from young mothers. A 
queen is in her highest state of excellence soon after she 
commences to lay, and can be used for breeding other 
queens, if from stock of known excellence, as scon as it is 
found by her hatching bees that she has mated correctly. 
Queens cannot be too Prolific. 
I am aware that there are some bee-keepers who consider 
that a queen can be too prolific. It may be so with their 
management, but as a simple matter of fact the more 
prolific the queen, the larger the surplus stored, du¢ one’s 
management must provide that she does her best before 
the season opens; thereafter she will simply keep pace 
with the wear and tear upon the life of the workers. 
It will be asked, “ And how are we to provide that the 
best powers of the queen are to be used up before actual 
storage commences?” Some important matters having 
reference thereto I have already given; but one way of 
doing this is to unite two or more colonies, making them 
very strong in the Autumn whenever it is found stocks 
are at all under full strength. Another plan is that of 
uniting about ten days before the season is expected to 
open, and thus in either case providing that the number 
of actual gatherers shall presently be far in excess of those 
required to attend to the young. 
As a rule, especially where no honey is obtained after 
