QUEENS. 131 



hives, which should he placed above, containing the caged 

 queen, while the drones are retained in the box. 



Drone combs may be supplied to these chosen colonies, 

 and the bulk if not the whole of the drones in our 

 apiary be furnished from such stock. Yet there are 

 native, or inferior bees in almost every section, so near, 

 that our choice queens are liable to be fertilized by their 

 drones. 



If I were able to recommend a practical method of se- 

 curing wi|;h certainty, the impregnation of our queens, 

 by selected drones, it would afford me great gratification. 



FERTILIZATION IN CONFINEMENT. 



This subject has received special attention, and in sev- 

 eral instances, success has been reported. While associated 

 with Mr. Quinby, we experimented upon it thoroughly, 

 with the aid of every suggestion that had been given by 

 those who advocated it most strenuously, and in every in- 

 stance we were unsuccessful. We used enclosures of all 

 dimensions, from a lamp chimney up to a room 8 ft. 

 square, covered at top, and each side with wire cloth and 

 glass. I have witnessed the queen as she came naturally 

 forth from the hive into this room, and was surrounded 

 by drones on the wing, yet in no single instance did we 

 attain the desired result. But the fact that we have not 

 been successful is by no means proof of its impossibility. 

 Many who have experimented in this direction express 

 themselves confident of success. 



Prof. Haabrouck of Flatbush, L. 1., in a paper read 

 before the National Convention held in New York in 1878, 

 states that in many instances he has witnessed their mat- 

 ing in small boxes upon the top of his hives. It is, how- 

 ever, so far from being uniformly successful, that a prac- 

 ticable method for accomplishing it can not yet be confi- 

 dently recommended. Hut I anticipate the time when 



