248 SUMMER. 



and prevent it resting on the end. I have done it as 

 follows : Get an old thick piece of dry comb some 

 three inches square; cut out an inch of the middle. 

 At right angles with this, in one edge in the centrCj 

 niake another to intersect it, just the size of the cell, 

 and have the lower end reach into the opening. This 

 comb will keep it in the right position, and may rest 

 on the floor-board. It can now be put in the hive, 

 cutting out a piece of comb to make room for it if 

 necessary. 



Soon after such cell is introduced, the bees are quiet. 

 In a few days it hatches, and they have a queen as 

 perfect as if it had been one of their own rearing. 

 This queen of course will be necessitated to leave the 

 hive, and will be just as liable to be lost, but no more 

 so than others, and must be watched the same. It is 

 unnecessary to look for a cell in a stock that has cast 

 its first swarm more than a week before, as they are 

 generally destroyed by that time, (sometimes short of 

 it,) unless they intend to send out an after swarm. 



MARK THE DATE OF SWARMS ON THE HIVB. 



Should you have so many stocks that you cannot 

 remember the date of each swarm without difficulty', 

 it is a good plan to mark the date on one side or cor- 

 ner of the hive, as it issues. You can then tell at 

 once where to look for a cell when wanted. 



It will sometimes happen that a queen may be lost 

 at the extreme end of the swarming season, when no 

 other stock contains such cells. I then look around for 

 the poorest stock or swarm that I have on hand, one 



