136 PLEASUBABLE BEE-KEEPING. 



still laying. In a few days the virgin queen left the 

 hive on her wedding trip, and, the object of her visit 

 having been obtained, she entered the hive and killed 

 the old queen. This instance proving, if proof were 

 necessary, that stocks do requeen themselves, is given 

 to show the necessity for removing any queen known 

 to be of inferior quality. A young queen may be 

 easily recognised by her downy appearance, but the 

 appearance of a queen must not alone be the guide as 

 to whether or not she is to be superseded. 



Work in the form of egg-laying is what we require 

 in a queen ; therefore it is the manner in which she 

 lays that must decide her fate. It is impossible to 

 say what quantity of brood should be in a hive at 

 any particular date, for seasons vary. The earlier 

 the season the more forward will be a good stock. 

 It is, therefore, chiefly by comparison that the merits 

 of queens must be decided. When a stock, apparently 

 equal to others in the apiary in point of numbers and 

 amount of stored food, shows a small amount of brood 

 while others are in this respect fairly equal, the con- 

 clusion we may fairly come to is that the queen in 

 question is not worth keeping, and consequently must 

 be replaced by one of better quality. In some well- 

 managed apiaries it is rarely that a queen is allowed 

 to remain at the head of a colony beyond her second 

 season, as she is, from a bee-keeper's standpoint, 

 worn out or has reached that stage in her existence 

 when to keep her means a lowering of the profit 

 obtainable from that particular stock. 



These remarks will doubtless be sufficient to 

 emphasise the necessity for keeping a strict account 



