238 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE BEES. 



about six inches from each end (Fig. 86). A week 

 later this frame will have a comb built in it that will fill 

 most of the frame, the comb being fairly well filled with 

 eggs and young brood (Fig. 88). It is taken away, and 

 another frame with two small starters put in its place as 

 before. Thus this nucleus will furnish once a week a 

 frame of comb with brood of the best sort for queen- 

 rearing. It will be a day or so after the frame is given 

 before the queen lays in it, so that the brood will not be 

 too old even if the bees were so foolish as to prefer it. 



The comb being new and tender makes it probably 

 an easier job for the bees to build queen-cells upon it; 

 at any rate Ihey always show a preference for such 

 comb, and perhaps start on it a larger number of cells 

 than they would on older comb. 



PREPARING BEES FOR CELL-BUILDING. 



Having now arranged for the right kind of brood 

 and eggs to be ready on the same day of each week, the 

 next thing is to provide the right kind of bees to start 

 the cells. Old bees are not as good as young for the 

 purpose, so there must be a goodly number of young 

 bees each time a fresh comb is given, and it is better to 

 have matters arranged so that the bees shall be conscious 

 of their queenlessness at the time the comb is given, so 

 that work on the cells may begin at once. 



Two colonies are used, their hives standing back to 

 back, one facing east, the other west. This is in the 

 home apiary, for queen-rearing after this plan is all done 

 at home and when queens are needed at the out-apiaries 

 they are taken from home. One of the colonies has a 

 queen, the other is queenless, and the queen is changed 

 from one side to the other each week. Two stories are 

 on each stand ; the lower story having combs in which 

 the bees can store if they are getting anything to store. 



