Securing Queen-Cells. 171 



desii-able conditions named above, we shall probably fiiil to se- 

 cure so many cells, and may have to wait longer than we can 

 afford. 



Even the apiarist who keeps black bees and desires no 

 others, or who has only pure Italians, will still find that it 

 pays to practice this selection, for, as with the poultry fan- 

 cier, or the breeder of our larger domestic animals, the 

 apiarist is ever observing some individuals of marked superi- 

 ority, and he who carefully selects such Queens to breed 

 from, will be the one whose profits will make him rejoice, and 

 whose apiary will be worthy of all commendation. As will 

 be patent to all, by the above process we exercise a care in 

 breeding which is not surpassed by the best breeders of horses 

 and cattle, and which no wise apiarist will ever neglect. 



It is often urged, and I think with some truth, that we 

 shall secure better queens if we wait for the queen-cells to be 

 started naturally by the bees, under the swarming impulse ; and 

 by early feeding and adding brood from other colonies we can 

 hasten this period; yet, if we 'feed to stimulate, whenever the 

 bees are not storing, and keep tne colony redundant in bees 

 of all ages by adding plenty of capped brood from other col- 

 onies, we shall find that our queen, are little, if any, inferior, 

 even if their production is haste ed by removal of a queen 

 from the hive. If these directions are closely followed, there 

 will be little brood for the bees to feed, and the queen-cells 

 will not suffer neglect. Mr. Quinby not only advised this 

 course, but he recommended starting queen cells in nuclei ; but 

 he emphasized the importance of giving but very little brood, 

 so nearly all the strength of the nurse bees would be expended 

 on the queen-cells. 



After we have removed all the queen-ceUs, in manner soon 

 to be described, we can again supply eggs, or newly-hatched 

 larvse — always from those queens which close observation has 

 shown to be the most vigorous and prolific in the apiary — and 

 thus keep the same queenless colony, or colonies, engaged in 

 starting queen-cells till we have all we desire. Yet we must 

 not fail to keep this colony strong by the addition of capped 

 brood, which we may take from any hive as most convenient. 

 We must be cautious that our cells are started from only such 

 brood as we take from the choicest queen. I have good 

 reason to believe that quean-ceJls should not be started after 



