122 ITALIAN QUEEN BEABING. 



SHIPPING QUEENS. 



The simplest way to send queens is by mail, in a small wooden queen- 

 cage, containing sugar candy poured when hot in one end for food. It 

 is best to enclose twenty or twenty-five workers with her. Such queen 

 cages are made by boring one and one-half inch auger holes nearly 

 through a plank one and one-fourth inches thick and cutting into blocks 

 two inches square. A small auger hole for an entrance on one edge, 

 stopped with cork, and a wire cloth tacked over the hole completes it. 

 "We have sent queens by mail successfully to the Sandwich Islands. 

 Sometimes it may be preferred to send queens with comb and brood in 

 nucleus boxes by express. If so, one small frame of bees and honey is 

 sufficient. Fasten it securely, so as to prevent possible injury, and give 

 good ventilation, (with opening, covered with wire cloth). 



Except where queen rearing is followed as a business, we recommend 

 using only full sized frames for nucleus hives. They are then exchang- 

 able at any time, and may be used for full colonies in winter. 



When small frames are used the outside of each should be a certain 

 proportion of the inside of the full frame, so as to be used within it 

 when desired for placing in the full hive. 



Whenever there is a scarcity of honey in the flowers, it will be 

 necessary to feed some of the nuclei, especially those having unfertile 

 queens or young brood, and those constructing queen-cells. Also the 

 breeding hives, as it is sometimes necessary to keep the bees continual- 

 ly building comb in order to induce the queen to rear much brood. 



A regular supply of queen-cells may be had every five days 

 by having two queenless stocks, and inserting in them alternately 

 every fifth day, comb containing eggs and larvaa taken from any 



