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The queen with which you wish to commence, should 
be pure beyond doubt. Purchase of some one who will 
guarantee her purity, and whose guarantee you can 
trust. The fall is the best time to purchase your queen ; 
in such a case she will be ready for the rearing of other 
queens from her brood the next season. As soon as the 
box containing the queen is received, set it in a cool 
and dark cellar, or place it under a box, in the shade of 
a tree, admitting plenty of air. 
DIRECTIONS FOR INTRODUCING A QUEEN. 
Select the best, and strongest colony, and open it 
when almost all of the bees are abroad. Lift out one 
of the middle combs gently and look carefully over both 
sides for the queen ; disturb the little cluster and scru- 
tinize the dispersing bees ; if not found on the first 
comb, instead of returning it to the hive, put it into an 
empty hive, or lean the frame against the hive ; lilt out 
and examine the next frame, and so on. If the queen 
cannot be seen on the combs, the bees in the hive, and 
sometimes all the bees from the combs, will have to be 
brushed on a sheet and required to travel several feet to 
the hive, when the queen can be found and destroyed. 
Now remove the old stock of comb and bees to a new 
stand about three rods distant ; take out four frames, 
brushing back all the bees ; put these frames with comb 
