274 THE bek-kkkpbr's guidb; 



regularity to make it pay to feed the meal. I much question, 

 after some years of experiment, if it is ever necessary at this 

 place to give the bees a substitute for pollen. In case of long- 

 storms, the bee-bread may be exhausted. I have never known 

 such a case, when the hard candy frames with rye meal 

 described at the close of the last chapter may be hung in the 

 hive. 



The best colony in the apiary — or if there are several colo- 

 nies of equal merit, one of these — should be stimulated to the 

 utmost, by daily feeding with warm syrup, and by increase of 

 brood taken from other colonies. As this colony becomes 

 strong, a comb containing drone-cells should be placed in the 

 center of the brood-nest. Very soon drone-eggs will be laid. 

 I have often had drones flying early in May. As soon as the 

 drones commence to appear, remove the queen and all eggs 

 and uncapped brood from some good, strong colony, and re- 

 place it with eggs or brood just hatched from the colony con- 

 taining the queen from which it is desired to breed. By hav- 

 ing placed one or two bright, new, empty combs in the midst 

 of the brood-nest of this colony four days beforehand, we shall 

 have in these combs just such eggs and newly hatching brood 

 as we desire, with no brood that is too old. 



If we have more than one colony whose excellence war- 

 rants their use to breed from, then these eggs should be taken 

 from some other than the one which has produced our drones. 

 This will prevent the close in-breeding which would neces- 

 sarily occur if both queens and drones were reared in the same 

 colony ; and which, though regarded as deleterious in the 

 breeding of all animals, should be practiced in case one single 

 queen is of decided superiority to all others of the apiary. The 

 queen and the brood that have been removed may be used in 

 making a new colony, in a manner soon to be described under 

 "Dividing or Increasing the Number of Colonies." This 

 queenless colony will immediately commence forming queen- 

 cells (Fig. 93). Sometimes these are formed to the number of 

 fifteen or twenty, and in case of the Syrian and Cyprian races 

 fifty or sixty, and they are started in a full, vigorous colony ; 

 in fact, under the most favorable conditions. Cutting off 

 edges of the comb, or cutting holes in the same where there 



