42 THE BEE-KEEPER’S MANUAL. 
are familiar with Cheshire’s or Aston’s drone-trap 
will readily understand the principle of his method, 
which consists in affixing over the mouth of the 
hive a contrivance of the same kind as these traps, 
but considerably larger; the bees all seck to make 
their exit through this, but the perforations are too 
small to afford escape to either the queen or the 
drones, so that the pairing must obviously take 
place within the cage or else not at all. In confor- 
mity with the principles laid down at the close of 
the section on “Reproduction,” it would seem that 
such cave ought to be both large and airy enough 
to afford to the drone a bona fide flight in the 
fresh atmosphere. Unless this rule is thoroughly 
carried out, we suspect that success will always be 
only ‘ partial.” 
Another method comes from Germany and has 
been highly commended. The young queen may 
be placed in a small hive with a frame or two of 
workers and the particular set of drones of which 
one is desired for her mate (if hatched in a nucleus 
hive, that will be just the thing); and forty-eight 
hours after her birth this is transferred bodily into 
a cellar or some similarly cool and dark place, and 
there kept till the afternoon of some sunny day 
free from wind, and when the thermomcter is not 
lower than 70° in the shade. Then at about five 
o’clock—at which hour the regular drone flight 
has ceased, and there will consequently be no fear 
of intruders marring the result—the hive is broucht 
out and placed towards the sun, and if possible at 
some distance from the rest of the apiary. If a 
