42 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUEE. 



unwise, and if a colony is divided into many parts, each may be too 

 small to thrive, and the whole colony be lost. 



REARING QUEENS. 



Every bee-keeper should raise his own queens and not depend 

 upon the commercial queen breeders for anything but a new queen 

 for breeding purposes. 



Fig. 27. — A Corner of a Rhode Island Queen Rearing Apiary. 



The easiest way to secure a few young queens is to divide the combs 

 of a colony that has swarmed into lots of twos or threes, seeing that 

 each lot has one or more queen cells. Place these combs, with ad- 

 hering bees in empty hives, reduce the entrance so but one or two 

 bees can pass, and place the hives away from the large colonies, if 

 convenient. In due time the young queens will hatch and mate 

 and may then be used as desired. 



