ana its Economic Management. 331 
confined on pollen and honey for over four weeks. On 
one occasion several were so confined for 45 days, and 
these were quite ready to fly when removed from the 
comb. 
Queens Dying in the Cage. 
Some of my correspondents appear to have a difficulty 
in preserving surplus queens even for a few days. 
Of course care must be taken to cage the young queens 
on unsealed shallow cells -containing honey and _ pollen; 
and they are of course in a better position where the stock 
has no presiding queen. But more than anything, natural 
vigor must be an essential feature of the strain of bees and 
queens that produce the virgins. 
It is a fact that native queens do not stand long 
confinement, while the bees are more excitable than any 
when shut in for any reason. Some Italian queens and 
Cyprians, as well as Carniolans, may be confined for a 
longer period without much inconvenience ; but the queens 
bred from the ordinary imported Italians and Carniolans 
will not sustain confinement much better than native 
queens. 
Waste of Material and Vitality. 
Where the apiarist desires to rear a large number of 
queens it is undoubtedly better to have a surplus of nuclei 
set out, rather than a surplus of queens waiting too long 
before they can be given a free flight. 
Queens in the highest state of vitality can only be those 
that are free from the first. Anyone can prove that these 
become fertilized sooner than older queens that have been 
confined for some days. 
This same rule, I may also add, holds good with queens 
reared from eggs rather than from larve that may be 
somewhat advanced. 
