Cottager and Smallholder 45 



Winter passages are given by laying a couple of pieces of 

 wood, half an inch thick, over the top of the frames, under 

 the calico quilt. 



Naphthaline should be placed in the brood chamber and 

 amongst the quilts. Extra wrappings are given, folded news- 

 papers being excellent for the purpose. 



If any doubt exists as to the supply of food being sufficient 

 give a cake of candy. 



The roof must be made water-tight, and secured by driving 

 a stake down at one side of "the hive, to which a cord is tied, 

 then passed over the roof and a brick tied on the other end, 

 so that it just swings clear of the ground. The entrance is 

 opened to six inches. 



Should snow fall it must be cleared from the roof and alighl^ 

 ing board, and a shade board reared in front of the entrance 

 to prevent reflected light from the snow entering the hive 

 and attracting the bees out to their death. 



An occasional look at the candy, and the dead bees cleared 

 from the inside of the entrance by means of a hooked wire, is 

 all the attention required during the winter. 



All that can be done with skeps or box hives is to wrap them 

 up warm and dry. 



XVIII.— QUEEN REARING AND INTRODUCTION. 



It is unnecessary for the owner of only a few stocks to follow 

 an elaborate system of queen rearing, but he should see that all 

 his colonies contain young vigorous queens. The best queens 

 are those secured under the natural swarming impulse. 



ilake careful notes to find out which colony has the desired 

 qualities, i.e., the best workers, docile and good in constitution. 



The second or third season bring the selected colony to swarm- 

 ing point, and when the queen cells are sealed over cut them 

 out, and put one in each cage of a nursery frame. Fig. 55. 

 The cages are made by cutting a number of square blocks of 

 wood, through which a IJ inch hole is bored, covered on either 

 side with perforated zinc or wire cloth. A hole is bored in the 

 top of the block to take a cork The cages are made to fit 

 into a brood frame, the cells being fastened to the corks with 

 molten wax and placed in the cages. The frame is then put 

 in the centre of a colony until the queens emerge, when they 

 are introduced to the colonies to be re-queened. 



