and its Economic Management. 113 



it is not desirable to put more than one prepared comb into one 



hive at a time. I have used frames with parallel bars and strips 



of comb on each, but find nothing more simple and practical than 



the one piece, which gives from ten to twenty cells at a time. 



By the time the prepared comb is ready the broodless and 



queenless bees will have found out their loss, and being greatly 



excited are in the best condition possible for starting queen cells. 



Place a comb or two of stores at each side, and after two or three 



days add a comb of hatching brood to keep up a population of 



young bees. 



H. Alley's Plan. 



The oldest queen raiser in America, Mr. Alley, of Wenham, 

 Mass., has had considerable success by first confining his bees in 

 a dark room for twelve hours, considering that the eggs will some- 

 times be destroyed by bees when given at once to them. This 

 is quite true, but I find I have better results by giving eggs 

 just hatching without confining the bees, but waiting till their 

 excitement shows they are fully aware of their loss. Bees do not 

 feed eggs, and a day or two is wasted, whereas by supplying 

 larvae their feeding operations commence at once and more cells 

 are consequently started. Mr. Alley places his strips of comb, 

 as it were, on the side, with the upper part cut off nearly down to 

 the base, where fastened to another comb, when the cells' on the 

 other side of the septum hang down perpendicularly, each other 

 egg being removed. Thus it is impossible for two royal cells 

 to be placed quite close together, but Mr. A. should withdraw 

 his statement that they are built perfectly regular, and just where 

 he desires. That bees do build many cells after confinement I 

 am fully aware, but as the same author considers no more than 

 twelve queens should be raised in one hive, I fail to see any 

 advantage in that respect. 



The Cell Nursery. 



Where a large number of queens are required, as soon as any 

 queen cells are capped, they are to be removed with adhering 

 bees to another queenless hive retained for this express purpose. 



