THE beekeepers' DIRECTORY. II9 



quite sharp is one of the most convenient and handy tools that I 

 have in the apiary. This is used for cutting foundation or comb 

 of any kind. A knife for such a purpose will work nicely if 

 warmed. 



A quantity of hot water should be at hand to dip the knife in 

 occasionally. When not convenient to have the water, the knife 

 may be warmed by the blaze of a kerosene lamp. 



Selecting the eggs for the' cells. 



Now we are ready to cut the comb from the frame. Bear in 

 mind that the last eggs deposited by the queen are those near 

 the edge of the comb, and in order not to take such, those eggs 

 are selected nearest the centre of the patch of unhatched eggs. I 

 mean by this, that should a queen be allowed to fill one comb 

 with eggs, those deposited in the centre of the comb will be the 

 first eggs to hatch and those are the ones to select for queen- 

 cells. 



If queen-rearing is to be done upon a large scale, it is much the 

 best plan to keep the queen whose eggs are, to be used in a small 

 hive having fi-ames but five inches square and five frames to the 

 hive. The eggs in the centre *comb would be at the right age and 

 condition for cell-building in just eighty-four hours after it was 

 placed in the hive. Our way is to draw out the middle comb each 



day, and insert another one. We 



then have eggs every .day in the ^SSSS^IS^^OO^^Q 

 proper condition for queen-rear- MiglglgigJi^^i^tftffM 

 mg. These combs are placed m a nssaBMaffi^^SSaKH 

 queenless colony until needed. ssSSSSSSlsStBsSSS^ 

 After warming the' knife again, the M^li^iJIglpll^lfilPIII^^ 

 comb IS cut in strips through each BgsSsaMaaKHBHHBSa 

 alternate row of cells as indicated BSSASSkSSbBSSBSI 

 by the hnes in fig. 7. When this _ 



has been done the pieces are laid 



flatwise upon a board, or on the table, and about half of the cell 

 is cut ofi" as illustrated in fig. 8. The knife should be very warm 

 and sharp, or the ends of the cells would be made so ragged that 

 the bees would be apt to remove the comb entire and no cells 

 would b? made. 



