and its Economic Management. 321 
1903, he ‘described and illustrated an aimost identical queen- 
rearing frame, with the very same perforated tubular cages, 
as an invention recently patented by one named Stanley. 
From this date Gleanings and other journals at last 
awakened to the advantages of detachable artificial cell-cups. 
Economic Construction of Wooden Cups. 
If the artificial cups are made too deep, or the wood is at 
all too thick, the embryo queen will take longer than the 
usual period to develop, through the loss of the necessary 
“contact warmth,” 
Hence the necessity of having the artificial cups as 
shallow as possible, say not more than jin. deep, by in. in 
diameter internally, and gin. externally. 
Natural Based Cells—No Melted Wax. 
The frame is placed flat on a table with the revolving 
‘bars turned half round, thus bringing the line of wooden 
cups with the openings uppermost. Circular discs of brood 
foundation are first prepared by cutters in two sizes in. 
and din. in diameter. The smaller disc is first placed in a 
cell-cup, then the larger one on that. 
The cell-forming stick, shaped to form a natural base, but 
slightly larger than that of a drone cell, is retained in a cup 
of warm water. The drip is shaken from this moulding 
stick, when with quite gentle pressure the two discs are 
fixed as one piece firmly into the wooden base as a cell-cup. 
Meanwhile the collar or rim of wax, as it turns upwards, 
is worked round the stick with the thumb and forefinger of 
the left hand; the stick is then slightly eased and with- 
drawn. Although quickly and perfectly fixed, these wax 
bases are easily removed, and leave the wood quite clean, 
when so required, for a fresh start. 
The fact that queen-cells, when started by the bees on 
new combs, have natural bases, appears to have been 
WwW 
