124 INCREASE 
full sized colony. Often the bee-keeper will not use more than 
a dipperful of bees for a nucleus used for mating purposes ouly. 
It is a common practice to shake the bees from a single frame 
to use for this purpose and to unite them with full colonies again 
in the fall. 
There are two plans in common use among commercial queen 
breeders. One is known as the Alley plan and the other as the 
Doolittle plan, after the men who originated them. While in 
many eases both plans have been greatly modified since first 
made public, the general principle remains. 
The Alley Plan.—If one wishes to make use of this plan the 
first thing is to remove a brood comb containing eges from the 
brood nest of the colony Jed by the best queen. No bees should 
be retained on the comb, as it will he necessary to cut it in strips. 
Each strip contains just one row of cells. With a sharp knife 
eut through the row above and below, saving every other row for 
use. This cutting must be done very carefully to avoid injury 
to the delicate comb and the eges it contains. After the strips 
have heen cut they are laid dewn and the cells on one side eut 
down to about a quarter of an inch of the foundation or center 
of the comb. With a match destroy every other egy in this side. 
These shallow cells can now be readily built into queen eells by 
the bees as shown in Fig. 58. This same picture shows how 
the strips are fastened to the bottom: of a shallow comb, so that 
they will be in the center of the brood nest of the hive in which 
they are placed. Tf the knife is kept hot there is less danger of 
jammine: the cells when doing the eutting. The strips ean be 
fastened hy means of melted beeswax, which will adhere to the 
wood strip on the lower side of the comb. Mr. Alley fastened 
them directly to the comb without any wood strip. The combs 
with strips are then given to queenless colonies. 
While most commercial establishments use some modification 
of the Doolittle cell eup method, the Alley plan is still used hy 
some queen breeders who prefer it to the other. 
The Doolittle Method.—A ereat advance has been made in 
