ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 91 



queens are removed. After a queen is two days old it is rather diffi- 

 cult to introduce her to these populous, well-established nuclei. 

 Mr. Alley makes a success of it by smoking the bees with tobacco 

 until they begin to show sig-ns of stupefacation. The nucleus then 

 has its entrance closed with a plantain leaf, as the bees are in no 

 condition to defend their home. By the time the leaf wilts and re- 

 leases the bees they are again able to defend themseves. 



As a rule, a queen begins laying when ten days old, but hot 

 weather and a good honey flow often shorten this period. I have 

 frequently had them laying in eight days, and, in a very few 

 instances, in only seven days. During a drouth, when no honey was 

 gathered, I have known queens to be three weeks old before begin- 

 ning to lay. At such times it certainly pays the queen breeder to 

 feed the nuclei in which there are queens old enough to lay. When 

 engaged in queen rearing I had some shallow boxes, each of which 

 was just large enough to cover the top of the nucleus. These boxes 

 were filled half full of candy, and when a nucleus was found during a 

 dearth of honey, containing a queen old enough to lay, but «o/ laying, 

 one of these boxes of candy was inverted over the nucleus. Two 

 days later, the queen would invariably be found laying. 



With a large number of nuclei, it is impossible to remember the 

 condition in which each was left at the last visit. A record of some 

 kind must be kept, and I know of nothing better than the "Queen 

 Registering Cards," sold by the A. I. Root Co., Medina, Ohio. They 

 are made of weather-proof paper, and one is tacked upon the side of 

 each nucleus. Upon each card are three dials. One contains the 

 months; one the days of the month; and one the following words: 

 "Eggs," "Brood," ''Cell," "Hatched," "Laying," "Missing." Com- 

 mon pins are used as pointers. About ^ of an inch of the point is 

 bent at right angles, and then driven into the center of the dial. 

 When a cell is given, one pointer is turned to the month; another 

 to the day of the month; and the third to the word "Cell." If the 

 queen is found hatched at the next examination, the date is changed, 

 and the pin turned to "Hatched." When found laying, and again 

 when taken out and shipped, the pointers are turned accordingly. 

 A glance at the register always shows the condition of the nucleus 

 at the last examination. The turning of these pins takes only a 

 moment, and is away ahead of using a pencil. 



In the shipping of queens, success turns largely upon the food 

 that is used. I have used no food superior to that obtained by mix- 

 ing honey with pulverized sugar until it is of the consistency of a stiff 

 dough. The novice is likely to make it too thin. It is well-nigh im- 

 possible to mix in too much sugar. The maker may think it quite 



