and its Economic Management. 287 



"happens that they are found dead. This results from one 

 of two causes: either want of food, or death by stinging or 

 worrying, as the perforations are too large in almost all 

 cages used. The former shows the danger of using such 

 •cages as do not press into the combs, should the bees be 

 disinclined to feed the stranger ; while the latter evil can 

 be remedied by using perforations no larger than an 

 ordinary pin will pass. We may now, indeed, consider 

 the period of uncertainty, as in the days of queen caging, 

 to have passed away. Under the author's own manage- 

 ment, the subject of queen introduction has been reduced 

 to a certainty. In addition to the methods of direct intro- 

 duction, already enumerated, the experience gained by 

 an extensive practice has resulted in the following addi- 

 tional observations, which must prove of service to many 

 who may have cause to introduce queens. 



A fertile queen is rarely objected to where queen cells 

 are already capped over, and one may be run in at any 

 time of the day. Any such colony will also accept a 

 virgin queen right away, and if broken up into nuclei the 

 respective divisions will accept one or more unfertilised 

 queens. Upon the removal of a virgin queen, a fertile one 

 will almost certainly be accepted if inserted at the same 

 operation. 



A colony deprived of the queen and the whole of its 

 brood will accept either a virgin or fertile queen as soon 

 as they are in an uproar because of such loss. The 

 absence of the queen is detected almost immediately 

 when the brood also is removed. Many bees are lost if 

 bees are allowed to remain thus deprived for any length 

 of time. My first Holy Land queen was introduced in 

 this way over twenty-five years since, and though there is 

 some trouble in removing the brood, I have always found 

 the plan reliable, and the bees humming merrily, in pos- 



