132 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



with princesses unmatured, if presented to them. Sup- 

 pose we have one or two hives ready to swarm for the 

 first time when these queens are available. We hasten 

 to take swarms from them, and as soon as the hees in the 

 old hives have discovered the loss of their own queens, we 

 give them young ones instead. This is a grand idea, full 

 of stimulus and suggestion to earnest bee-keepers partially 

 enlightened. The hives that thus get queens as soon as 

 their own are taken from them are lifted fourteen or six- 

 teen days in advance of those which do not receive queens. 

 For it would take them fourteen days, at least, to rear 

 queens, even if the eggs were set the hour on which 

 they lost their old ones, and the queens from those eggs 

 were allowed to leave their cells on coming to perfection. 

 These transplanted queens would lay about 28,000 eggs 

 in fourteen days — that is to say, before the queens reared 

 in the hives begin to lay at all. Of course, the intro- 

 duction of these surplus queens to hives that have just 

 swarmed, either naturally or artificially, prevents all pre- 

 paration for throwing second swarms. The old hives are 

 never without brood, for the young queens begin to lay 

 before all the brood is hatched. Such hives soon become 

 very strong, and capable of doing a great deal of work in 

 various ways. In honey seasons they will fill two or three 

 10-lb. supers, or one large one ; and if not supered but 

 eked, they will rise in weight to near 100 lb. 



In the case of hives swarming late — say in June — it is 

 of vast importance to give them queens ; for, if left to rear 

 queens for themselves, the season is nearly over before the 

 eggs of such queens come to perfection. Let us see how 

 long it is before young bees are matured- from such queens. 

 A swarm is obtained on the 15 th of June. The eggs 

 will be matured iato queens in fourteen days — i.e., 

 about the last day of the month. If there be no days 



