202 DR. miller's 



July 10 or IS to August 2S or September 1. How would this workr 

 How are cells to requeen with? 



A. It ought to work all right. Requeening with cells is all 

 right, only, of course, there will be less break in the rearing if 

 laying queens are given. 



Q. I have lately bought 16 colonies of black bees. They went 

 into the cellar on December 12, strong in bees and plenty of good, 

 sealed stores. They are in fine condition, but as the hives are of 

 all sizes and shapes, good for nothing but kindling wood, I shall 

 transfer to my do\-etailed hives. Do you think it would pay me 

 to requeen them with good Italian stock early in the season? 



A. Requeening early in the season is sure to interfere, at least 

 a little, with the building up of a colony, with the possibility of 

 interfering a great deal in case there is some hitch in introducing. 

 If you are requeening for the sake of having better stock to breed 

 from, it may pay to do so early, even it it interferes greatly with 

 the honey crop. But in your case you hardly want to interfere 

 with the crop this season. So, perhaps you will do just as well 

 to leave the old queens until after swarming, at least, if not until 

 near the close of harvest, unless your queens are poor, when it 

 would be best to requeen at once. 



Q. In one of my colonies I have a very prolific queen which 

 I desire to breed from and requeen five other colonies. Later I 

 wish to divide into two or three-frame nuclei and rear queens 

 from this stock. Please advise the best method for me to pursue. 



A. It's a bit hard to know just how to advise, there are so 

 many ways of doing and so much depends upon circumstances, 

 previous experience, and perhaps other things. In spite of the 

 fact that I don't like advertising, I will say that I think that you 

 would get information enough on that one topic alone to make 

 the purchase of "Fiftj^ Years Among the Bees'' a profitable in- 

 vestment. But I'll give you one way that ought to be successful, 

 even if you have but little experience. Strengthen the colony 

 with your choice queen by giving it brood with adhering bees 

 from other colonies, so it will be the first to swarm. Call it A, 

 and name the other colonies in the order of their strength, B, C, 

 D, E, F. When A swarms, set the swarm on the stand of A, and 

 A on the stand of B, and put B in a new place. A week later you 

 can cut out the queen-cells and give them to C, D, E and F, having 

 dequeened these a day previous. If, however, you want to operate 

 in an easier way, after you have put A in place of B, it will be 

 strengthened l)y receiving all the field bees of B as they return 



