60 AUSTRALIAN BEE LORE AND BEE CULTURE- 



ious management. Young queens, and closer spacing of brood- 

 comb when necessary, are about the best drone-traps that were- 

 ever invented. 



For high-class drones, select an old queen, one that has a 

 record of good traits, perhaps the older the better. If she has- 

 produced workers up to your ideal standard of usefulness, there- 

 is a moral certainty that her drones will be of equal merit. To 

 a certain extent in this way good drones can be selected. "It i& 

 not iully true that the drone is beyond control," says Cheshire. 

 With care, selected drones can be so secured for the purpose of 

 mating with selected queens. When a queen is 5 or 6 days old, 

 and unmated, close the hive she occupies at night, and remove 

 it to a cool dark room, and keep it there till the afternoon of the- 

 second day ; return the hive to its original stand. A nucleus! hive- 

 is the most handy for the purpose. Before returning it to -its- 

 place, feed all within with heated honey diluted with warm 

 water. Before liberating the queen and other inmates of the hive, 

 be satisfied there are no drones on the wing. This may be done 

 by listening for their deep bass hum, and noticing the entrances 

 of the surrounding hives. It is better to have two nucleus hives 

 for the purpose. One should contain the virgin queen and the 

 other the drones, wherein there is a fertile mother-bee. When 

 the nucleus hives are placed on the stand in the sunlight, it will- 

 cause great excitement in both hives. The queen and drones will 

 at once rush out, and there is a moral certainty that the object- 

 sought will be attained. 



-NURSERY CAGE. 



