180 FIFTY YEAES AMONG THE BEES 



DESTROYING QUEEN-CELLS TO PREVENT SWARMING. 



Among the first things a beginner thinks he has learned is 

 that destroying queen-cells will prevent swarming, and then he 

 is sorely disappointed to find that he is mistaken about it. But 

 I must confess that I have a good deal more faith in it than I 

 formerly had. Not that I would for a minute trust to it as a 

 sole means to prevent swarming. But I do know that in a good 

 many cases it is efficient. Perhaps one cause of my change of 

 view is the change in my bees. Breeding constantly for im- 

 provement in storing, and at the same time giving preference 

 to those least inclined to swarm, it is possible that destroying 

 cells has more effect than it fonnerly had. 



It may be well to give some examples, taking just as they 

 oome in order some colonies that needed no other treatment to 

 prevent swarming. I take them from the year 1C08, one of the 

 best honey years. The first one I come to had a two-year-old 

 queen, and June 23 I destroyed a grub in just one queen-cell. 

 No other queen-cell was started. If that had not been destroyed, 

 I suppose the colony would have swarmed, and that would have 

 lesser.ed the number oE sections produced, which was 181, be- 

 sides finishing up some "go-backs." The next had a three-year- 

 old quep]i, and gave 244 sections. June 23 one esg in a cell was 

 destroyed, and that was all for the season. The queen was 

 superseded after August 8. The next had a two-year-old queen, 

 aad gave 270 sections. I destroyed, June 15, one egg in a 

 queen-cell, and June 24 one grub. The next had a queen of the 

 pre\ious year and gave 100 sections. It never had even an egg 

 in a queen-oell the whole season. The next had a yearling- 

 queen, and gave 145 sections, besides having taken from it, in 

 May, three brood with adhering bees. Not an egg in a queen- 

 cell. The next had a yearling queen, and gave 211 sections. It 

 had one egg in a queen-cell June 6, also July 27 and August 6. 

 That may be enough to show that at least in some eases destroy- 

 ing cells was worth while. Perhaps one colony in three will 

 behave thus well. 



THOROUGH WORK AT KILLING CELLS. 



Some have said that if a frame or two were lifted from the 

 center of the hive and no cells found in them, there was no need 



