Addendum 



PLURALITY OF QUEENS IN ONE HTVB NOT A SUCCESS. 



Having had numerous inquiries from previous editions of tills work 

 concerning tlie plan mentioned on page 80 of this edition, for having 

 more than one queen in a hive, we may say that, while Mr. Alexander, 

 expert bee-keeper that he was, actually worked the scheme, we have 

 since learned that not on© bee-keeper in five hundred among the vet- 

 erans is able to keep more than one queen in a hive after the honey- 

 flow is over. It is quite a common occurrence to find mother and 

 daughter in one hive at the same time. In that case the old queen 

 Is failing, and there seems to be a sort of "agreement" on the part 

 of all parties concerned, bees and queens alike, that the old queen 

 shall stay in the hive as long as she can do any egg-laying; but as 

 the fall comes on, the old mother becomes conspicuous by her absence. 



A few have been successful in working a plurality of queens in 

 one colony at a time when conditions were just right. In the height 

 of a heavy honey-flow, for example, the bees will tolerate a plurality 

 of queens for a short time, or as long as honey is coming in freely; 

 but in nearly all cases, as soon as the honey-flow stops all the queens 

 will be missing but one. The fact that practically all of our best bee- 

 keepers in the United States and Europe who have tried to work the 

 plurality-queen system have failed, goes to show that the average 

 beginner at least better not waste any time on it. 



We have also had a good many calls for Mr. Alexander's son's 

 method for introducing several queens to a colony. Mr. A., shortly 

 before his death, described in Gleanings, page 1136 for 1907, the method 

 as follows: 



First, prepare a small box, about five or six inches square, by boring 

 a half-inch hole in one end. This you will for the present close, then re- 

 move a part of its two sides and cover with wire cloth so as to ventilate it 

 well. This we call our introducing-box. Take this box and a common queen- 

 cage to the colony to which you wish to introduce your choice queen, or sev- 

 eral of them, in fact; remove Its combs and put its queen, without any bees, 

 into the queen-cage you have. While doing this shake about a pint of bees 

 of the colony into the introducing-box. Close it and take all their combs 

 from the colony. These can be placed on top of almost any hive until next 

 day. The hive now made broodless, fill about half full of combs containing 

 some honey but no brood. Leave the colony alone until about sundown, 

 after which it will show distress over the loss of its queen and brood. Now 

 take the box of bees to the honey-house, and at the same time the queen, 

 but don't set them near each other. The bees in the little box will soon miss 

 their queen and have lots of trouble. 



After they have been confined about five hours prepare some warm 

 thin honey, placing it in a dish so that, by laying the box on one side, the 

 bees can easily reach the honey through the wire cloth, but can not daub 



