CHAPTER VII 
THE GENESIS OF THE QUEEN 
T has been said that the ways of the honey- 
bee are nearly all subject to variation—that in _ 
bee-life there are few hard-and-fast, undeviating 
laws. The rule, of one queen-mother only to each 
hive, appears to be more absolute than any other, 
yet it is not without its exceptions. Well authen- 
ticated instances are on record where two queens 
have existed amicably in the same hive, each 
laying her daily quota of eggs unmolested by the 
other, and, apparently, with the full approval of 
the hive-authorities. 
It is now also certain that a skilful bee-master 
can accustom his bees to the presence of more 
than one queen. Recent experiments in America 
on this head, although convincing enough as far 
as they go, need the test of time before their 
practical value to apiculture can be rightly esti- 
mated. To multiply its domestic deities may 
prove anything but a blessing to the harmony 
and welfare of a hive. But the fact has been well 
established that the old rule, of one queen at a 
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