266 2ueen Introduction by Caging. 
one-half inches wide, and containing fifteen to twenty 
meshes to the inch, about the finger. Let it lap each way 
one-half inch, then cut it off. Ravel out the half-inch on 
each side, and weave in the ends of the wires, forming a 
tube the size of the finger. We now have only to put the 
queen in the tube and pinch the ends together, and the 
queen is caged. The cage containing the queen should be 
Fic. 99. 
Queen Cage. 
inserted between two adjacent combs containing honey, 
each of which will touch it. The queen can thus sip honey 
as she needs it. If we fear the queen may not be able to 
sip the honey through the meshes of the wire, we may dip 
a piece of clean sponge in honey and insert it in the upper 
end of the cage before we compress this end. This will 
furnish the queen with the needed food. In forty-eight 
hours we again open the hive, after a thorough smoking, 
and also the cage, which is easily done by pressing the 
upper end at right angles to the direction of the pressure 
when we closed it. In doing this do not remove the cage. 
Now keep watch, and if, as the bees enter the cage or as 
the queen emerges, the bees attack her, secure her imme- 
diately and re-cage her for another forty-eight hours. I 
have introduced many queens in this manner, and have 
very rarely been unsuccessful. At such times if the queen 
is not well received by the bees, then she is “balled,” as it 
is termed. By the expression “balling the queen,” we 
mean that the worker bees press about her in a compact 
cluster, so as to form a real live ball as large as a good 
sized peach. Here the queen is held till she dies; or at 
least I have repeatedly had queens balled and the next day 
would find them in front of the hive dead. By smoking 
the ball or throwing it into water the queen may be speedily 
