■ 2']2 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING. 
exclusively while queenless, or possessing only an 
unhatched queen,* one of the hives would be half 
filled by that which, normally, can be used solely for 
store, or for raising a horde of useless consumers. If 
this stock be a second time divided, and the half 
containing the drone-comb be also left queenless, 
extinction of this section of the colony is certain, 
queens being occasionally able to lay worker eggs in 
drone-comb notwithstanding; for, probably, they would 
not even possess the means of raising a new queen. 
Foundation enables us to commit to queenless bees 
the task of comb-building, since the size of the cell 
is not left to their selection. 
For the benefit of the more enterprising of my 
readers, I append a few general principles, most of 
which were originally given in my “Practical Bee- 
keeping,” about twelve years since, and by which the 
experimentalist may do well to test any plan before 
putting it into execution. 
I. No swarming to be attempted before drones are 
rather numerous, or at least before patches of 
drones have been some days sealed. The old stock 
loses its queen, and the drone will be needed for her 
successor in about twenty-three days. The drone is 
sealed sixteen days, and is impotent until twelve or 
fourteen days old ; he must, therefore, be sealed about 
seven days before the egg to produce the queen was 
laid if he is to be in time for service. Exception : 
When we have a fertile mother to give to the old 
stock. 
* So soon as the queen leaves the cell, the bees start worker-comb. 
This has been denied ; I have proved it by many conclusive experiments. 
