234 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



ing hives specially built for them. I merely used an 8-frame 

 dovetailed hive, putting in it sometimes a 1-pound section 

 nearly filled with honey, and sometimes two such sections side 

 by side. A frame of brood with its adhering bees was taken 

 from some colony, the bees shaken or brushed into the nucleus- 

 hive quickly, a virgin not more than a day or two old dropped 

 into the "hive among the bees and all hastily closed, the en- 

 trance having been closed in advance. Of course, the frame of 

 beeless brood was returned to its old place. Three days later 

 the entrance was opened, and in due time the queen was laying. 

 However it may be for the commercial queen-rearer, for 

 the honey-producer there seems no great advantage in baby 

 nuclei. He generally needs to make some increase, and it is 

 more convenient for him to use 2 or 3 frame nuclei for queen- 

 rearing, and then build them up into full colonies. 



REGULAR HIVES FOB NUCLEI. 



One year I tried rearing queens on a commercial scale, pro- 

 ducing them for Editor G. W. York, of the American Bee 

 Journal. I may say, parenthetically, that one season was 

 enough to convince me it was best to stick to honey-production, 

 rearing queens only for my own use. But I had 50 three-com- 

 partment hives left on hand; and in spite of that, truth compels 

 me to say that latterly they generally lie idle, and I use a full 

 hive for each nucleus, merely putting 3 or 4 frames in one side 

 of the hive, with a dummy beside them. To be sure, it takes 

 moi e bees than to have three nuclei in one liive, but it is a l;ooi1 

 bit more convenient to build up into a full colony a nucleus 

 that has the whole hive to itself. 



QUEEN-CAGE. 



When we go to give queen-cells to the nuclei, we are pro- 

 vided with introducing queen-cages. The first introducing- 

 cage I devised was the Miller introducing-eage, listed in the 

 catalogs of supply-dealers. Then I got up one I liked better, 

 three of which are shown in Fig. 92, the blocks containing the 

 randy being separate from the cages. This may be called 

 I filler cage No. 2. Two blocks 3 inches by % by %, and a piece 



