212 AUSTRALASIAN 



and if more eggs are required, insert another in its place. Lay 

 the frame of comh flat on a table or other convenient place, 

 and with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, dipped in thin starch or 

 diluted honey to prevent its sticking, cut the comb into strips, 

 by running the knife along every second row of cells, as shown 

 by the white lines in Fig. 98, taking care to leave one row of 

 cells containing eggs intact in each strip. Some empty frames 

 will next be required, having two thin laths of wood nailed 

 inside longitudinally, so as to divide the depth into three com- 

 partments, as shown below. Next take the strips of comb, 

 and after destroying the egg in every alternate cell on one side 

 of the strip — which may easily be done by pressing it with the 

 head of a wax match —fasten the strips under the top and two 

 centre bars of the frame with a little melted wax, allowing the 

 cells in which the alternate eggs have been destroyed to point 



Kg. 99 FRAME FOE RAISING QUEEN CELLS ON. 



directly downwards. The object of destroying each alternate 

 egg is to prevent the cells being built too close together. A 

 space intervening gives facilities for cutting them out subse- 

 quently without injury. Care must be taken, when fastening 

 the strips, that the wax is not too hot, or else it may melt the 

 comb and kill the eggs. Having filled as many frames as may 

 be required (I generally find one comb sufficient to afford strips 

 for three frames), the next step to be taken is to remove the 

 queen, every egg, and all uncapped brood from some one or 

 more strong colonies, and place a frame of strips in the centre 

 of the brood-chamber in each case. Mr. Alley recommends 

 preparing the colony by removing the queen, etc., some twelve 

 hours or so before giving them the selected eggs. Mark the 

 date and age of the eggs on the frame, and also upon the 

 cover of the hive. A memorandum book is very useful in 

 connection with this work for keeping records in. The queen 

 and brood removed can be utilized in forming a nucleus colony 

 by caging the queen, removing a strong colony from its stand, 



