244 FIFTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES 



ill the way of queen-rearing, and have reared queens by the 

 hundred in the latest style; and I do not hesitate to say that 

 the simple method I have given ]ir(iiliiceri queens that I'an not be 

 snrjjassed by any other method. 



BEGINNER IMPROVING STOCK. 



I have been asked whether I would advise a beginner with 

 only half a dozen colonies, one of them having a superior queen, 

 to use the plans I have given to rear queens from his best queen. 

 I certainly should, if he intends to give much attention to the 

 business and increase the number of his colonies. The essential 

 ^le) s to be taken are simple enougii; and even a beginner can 

 easily follow them. But in a few words, lieie is what I would 

 a(l\-ise him : 



Take from the cdlony having your best queen one of its 

 fvanii's, and imt in the center of the hive a frame half filled or 

 entiiely filled with foundation. If small starters are used in a 

 full I'olony lliL' bees are likely to fill out with drone-comb. A 

 week later take out thi.^ comb, and trim away the edge that con- 

 tains only eggs. Put this prepared frame in the center of any 

 strong culony after taking away its queen and one of its 

 fi allies. Ten days later cut out these cells-, to be used wherever 

 desii'ed, gi\'ing the colony its queen or some other queen. 



Xiiw thei'e's nothing very complicated about that, is there? 



ITALIANIZINli WITH NATURAL SWARMING. 



Yet still there are some who don't want to take even that 

 much trouble. A man says : " All I care to do with the bees is 

 to hive the swarms that come oul, and to put on the surplus 

 bo-xes and take them off when filled. T never take a frame out 

 of a hive any more than if they were all box hives. But I have 

 Italians in one hive, and if I could I'd like to have more of that 

 slock." 



For such a one I would advise after this manner: Suppose 

 we call your Italian colony A, the strongest of the other col- 

 onies B, the next strongest C, the next D, and so on. When A 

 swarms, hive the swarm and set it on the old stand, put A in 

 place of B, and put B on a new stand. All the field-bees of B 



