26 ALEXANDER’S WRITINGS ON PRACTICAL BEE CULTURE 
bees seem to locate again so but few if any are lost. The very few old 
bees that may be lost by this method are merely nothing compared with 
the gain in bees after both queens have been laying three weeks or 
more. This is, without any exception, the best and most practical way 
of caring for those little weak colonies in early spring that has ever 
been made public. 
Another question that many are asking is, “What becomes of the 
drones that are shut up in the old hive when increase is made?” As I 
recommended in one of my former articles, first, we have but very few 
drones in our apiary. I never thought they added much to the surplus 
honey of a colony, and have often wondered why some bee-keepers rear 
millions of them in the place of workers; and for that reason it doesn’t 
hurt our feelings if we can trap them in an upper hive until they are 
dead. The bees usually pull them to pieces and drag the most of them 
down through the excluder. The man who now allows his bees to rear 
thousands of useless drones is but one very short step in advance of the 
man who keeps his bees in box hives. I am sure we secure at least 
three tons of honey a year more than we should if we allowed our bees 
to rear drones as some do. In the first place, it requires far more food 
than it does to rear workers; and then when you consider the advantage 
of having nearly all the bees in a hive producers instead of one-fourth 
or more only consumers, it counts much in securing surplus. So far 
as we can prevent we allow only one or two colonies to rear a few, 
which I think is all that is necessary for any apiary. 
April, 1906. 
BROOD-REARING IN THE SPRING. 
HOW TO BUILD UP THE COLONIES RAPIDLY; EXTRACTING SEALED HONEY IN 
MAY FROM THE BROOD-NEST TO MAKE ROOM FOR BROOD-REARING; 
BROOD-COMBS OF HONEY NOT DESIRABLE FOR 
SPRING FEEDING. 
According to our experience along this line I very decidedly differ 
with some honey-producers, and say, ‘Yes, it is not only advisable, 
but it is of as much importance as any other one thing connected with 
late spring management.” In preparing our bees for the summer harvest 
there are two things which should never be overlooked: 
1. Every hive should contain a sufficient amount of good worker 
comb for a large well-shaped brood-nest; 2. A good prolific queen. 
We think it pays us to kill many queens during the summer, with- 
out any regard to their age, simply if they are not as prolific as they 
should be, or if their bees are not as good honey-gatherers as they might 
be, or if they are inclined to be cross and vicious when working among 
them. It is not advisable to keep bees that have any serious faults. 
Let us consider the brood-nest as one of the principal things con- 
nected with securing a good surplus. Until the last few years we took 
