THE ITALIAN OR HGtrEIAN BEE. 3-20 



may be preferred. Make a box about one foot square, 

 having one of its sides in the form of a door, with hinges, 

 and a catch to hold it shut. Let another side be made of 

 narrow slats or strips five thirty-seconds of an inch apart. 

 These strips are better made of zinc, cut very accurately, 

 but wood will answer. Shake the bees from the combs 

 and let them enter this box, close the door, and sift the 

 ■bees — shaking them lengthwise off the bars. The workers 

 pass through the spaces, the queen, and drones, if any, 

 are retained. If shaken in front of the hive, the bees enter 

 as they drop out. The shaking confuses them so that 

 they are not disposed to sting.* 



The bees, when returned to the hive destitute of a 

 queen, will at once commence operations to remedy the 

 loss, by converting some of the worker larvse into queens. 

 In about seven days all the eggs left will have passed the 

 period when it is possible to change them thus, l^ow take ' 

 out the combs again, and cut off all royal cells that con- 

 tain larvae. The safety of the queen introduced, depends 

 greatly on their entire removah 



The queen might be introduced in less time than this, 

 and be accepted, at least without being stung imme- 

 diately, yet being so different from the old mother, they 

 are not always satisfied, and when they have means, will 

 sometimes rear another, notwithstanding her presence. 

 It is best to allow them no such opportunity. 



ISTKODCCTIOS OP QTJEESf. 



Introduce the queen thus. Secure her with two or 

 three of her workers, and a little honey in a wire-cloth 

 cage, and insert it among the combs. At the end of 

 twenty-four hours, she may be let out among the bees, and 

 when the foregoing preliminaries are observed — wiU be — 



* When the hives from which the bees are taken for rearing boxes, contain 

 black drones, Ihey may be separated very readily by this melhc-i of sifiing. 



