QtTEEHS. 137 



sometliing to do — never expecting to need tliem. Thej 

 may be all right, except late, and just sealed over when 

 the first one hatches. It is hardly possible to cut olll 

 such an unripe cell, and get from it a good i^ueen. UnDil 

 a queen has its shape and begins to get color, it, is very 

 delicate and tender. The cell is twice the size necessari/ 

 to hold it, and if it is cut ofE, and only turned over— even 

 if carefully done — it falls from one side to the other, and 

 is bruised badly, making it a cripple, and inferior in color. 



" Some of the advantages of the nucleus system may be 

 found in the particular care of a few points. 



" 1. I want new comb for the brood, as cells can be 

 worked over out of that, better than from the old and 

 tough. New comb must be carefully handled. If none 

 but old, tough comb is to be had, cut the cells down to 

 one-fourth of an inch in depth. The knife must be sharp 

 to leave it smooth, and not tear it. The bees will enlarge 

 and turn downward such shallow cell nearly as well as on 

 new comb. 



"2. Clean comb in condition to lay in, must be given the 

 bees in the brood hive frequently, perhaps every day, if 

 rearing many queens. Look every day, so as to know 

 just when the queen lays in any comb. Yon should cut 

 out the brood in five or six days from the time the eggs 

 are laid, and be sure of queens hatching in ten or eleven 

 days afterward, according to the age of larvae. As all the 

 eggs in the comb were laid within a few hours of each 

 other, all will mature about the same time ; such cells 

 can be cut out and handled without injury. A colony 

 may be deprived of its queen, and receive a cell the next 

 day which will hatch in a few hours. As there are but few 

 brood cells given them, the nurses in proportion are even 

 greater than in full colonies. Eemember, this is all the 

 brood they have to take their attention. They have just 

 realized their need of a queen ; they have the means 

 placed conveniently, with space underneath : thev work 



