178 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



eggs will be found. If larvae are found, they will be still small, 

 and not in large quantity. It appears from this that there is 

 some sulking for a time on the part of the queen, or else that 

 the bees are rather slow to prepare the foundation for her. It 

 is possible that this interim without any laying may be an 

 important part of the treatment. I don't know. 



SOME FAILURES. 



At any rate, in tlie first two seasons of using the plan, there 

 was no case of any colony making any further preparation for 

 swarming after being thus treated. The third season (1902) 

 every thing did not work so smoothly, but possibly the treat- 

 ment was not fairly administered in all cases. Some of the 

 colonies did not take kindly to the foundation, and in a few 

 cases it looked as if they might liave swarmed out rather than 

 Id use the foundation. In one case tliey built comb and started 

 a brood-nest in the vacant part, leaving the foundation un- 

 touclied. But there was some excuse for this as the foundation 

 was weather-beaten and hard. 



WORKIXIi TOWARD NOX-SWARIIING. 



Of couise it is nil little work In go through the colonies 

 every ten da\s up to the time of treatment, and I think it likely 

 that it would work all right to treat every colony on the exclud- 

 er plan, or some other plan, early in the honey-flow, whether 

 they had grubs in queen-cells or not. But there are some colo- 

 nies that will go through the whole season with never a grub in 

 a queen-cell. Possibly one or more eggs may be found in queen- 

 cells at each of several successive visits; possibly eggs may be 

 found at one visit, and none at succeeding visits. And exactly 

 these colonies that iicx er start cells, or are willing to be thwarted 

 in it, are the ones most likely to give record-yields. To inter- 

 feie with their work, even for a week in a slight degree, is not 

 desirable. Theie is also another important reason for allowing 

 every colony willing to do so to go through the whole season 

 without any preparation for swarming and without any inter- 

 ference. I am trying all the time to work at least a little 

 lowaiil a non-swarming strain of bees, and if all colonies were 



