igS FITTINGS AND APPARATUS. [Ch. iv. 



The ro3-al cells may be obtained from any source, and 

 artficially transferred to the divided frames, after which 

 the frames must be placed in a stock hive for twenty- 

 four hours for the bees to fix and repair the cells. Or, if 

 more convenient, three or four such frames may be placed 

 in the middle of a hive, and all stocked with eggs ; the 

 queen may be removed for a few hours, at the end of 

 which a larger or smaller number of royal cells wiH be 

 found to have been formed, and these in the middle 

 frames, which should be the ones desired. The trans- 

 ferring process may still be needful, unless only one or 

 two queens are wished for. The royal cells should be 

 placed inside when the two parts of the frame are put 

 together in the nucleus ; there must however be only 

 one such cell on each of these, as the first queen that 

 is hatched will be certain to destroy the cells of the 

 rest. 



Further mention of the subject of nucleus hives will ■ 

 be found under " Queen-Rearing." They should be 

 constructed with narrow entrances so as to lessen the 

 facilities to robber bees. 



§ XVI. QUEEN-CAGES. 



These are small receptacles made of close wire or 

 perforated zinc, just large enough to contain the queen 

 with a few of her acknowledged subjects, and their use 

 is on the occasion of her introduction to a new hive. 

 The new queen is by this means protected from the 



