QUEENS. 131 
hives, which should be placed above, containing the caged 
queen, while the drones are retained in the box. 
Drone combs may be supplied to these chosen colonies, 
and the bulk if not the whole of the drones in our 
apiary be furnished from such stock, Yet there are 
native, or inferior bees in almost every section, so near, 
that our choice queens are liable to be fertilized by their 
drones. : 
If I were able to recommend a practical method of se- 
curing with certainty, the impregnation of our queens, 
by selected drones, it would afford me great gratification. 
FERTILIZATION IN CONFINEMENT. 
This subject has received special attention, and in sev- 
eral instances, success has been reported. While associated 
with Mr. Quinby, we experimented upon it thoroughly, 
with the aid of every suggestion that had been given by 
those who advocated it most strenuously, and in every in- 
stance we were unsuccessful. We used enclosures of all 
dimensions, from a lamp chimney up to a room 8 ft. 
square, covered at top, and each side with wire cloth and 
glass. I have witnessed the queen as she came naturally 
forth from the hive into this room, and was surrounded 
by drones on the wing, yet in no single instance did we 
attain the desired result. But the fact that we have not 
been successful is by no means proof of its impossibility. 
Many who have experimented in this direction express 
themselves confident of success. 
Prof. Hasbrouck of Flatbush, L. L, in a paper read 
before the National Convention held in New York in 1878, 
states that in many instances he has witnessed their mat- 
ing in small boxes upon the top of his hives. It is, how- 
ever, so far from being umiformly successful, that a prac- 
ticable method for accomplishing itcan not yet be confi- 
dentiy recommended. But I anticipate the time when 
