92 



ADVANCED BEE CULTURE. 



hard and dry, but he will be surprised next day to find it quite soft 

 and pliable. If too soft it will daub the bees and ooze out of the 

 cage. 



As a shipping cage I think the Benton stands at the head. It 

 has three compartments all in a row and connected by openings. In 

 one of the end compartments is placed the food; the other two are 

 occupied by the bees, but. the one next to the foodj s not ventilated, 



^^ffe end opposite to 





ventilated. Verj' 



has been called the 



|.^i|ienables the bees 



mselves to the 



re. If it is cool. 



while the one iri 



the food is freely 



properly, this cage 



"climatic cage," as 

 I 

 to accommodate 



changes of temper- 



they occupy the central apartment; if warm," they can remain in the 



ventilated part of the cage. 



As to the number of bees to send in the cage with the queen, 

 that depends upon the time of the year. In the spring and fall, 

 more are needed; but I doubt if more than 30 bees are ever needed; 

 in warm weather, one-third that number is sufficient. 



The honey producer who wishes to rear a few queens for his 

 own use will not find it worth while to follow many plans that are 

 profitable in the hands of the professional queen breeder; he can 

 divide up one or more colonies into nuclei, and supply them with 

 cells taken from colonies that have swarmed, or he can remove a 

 queen from a colony, and, when its brood has all been sealed, cut out 

 the queen cells that have been started (as some of them maA' result 

 in inferior queens), and give the bees a comb of eggs and just 

 hatched larvae from some choice queen. The number of cells 

 started will be increased if small holes are cut through the comb at 

 that point where eggs are just hatching into larvae. When the cells 

 are nearly ready to hatch they can be cut out, and one given to 

 each nucleus. 



Queen rearing does not call for any great outlay of physical 

 strength, but consists rather of constant attention to a thousand and 

 one little details. 



