158 
DR. MILLER S 
when you give a virgin that has left her cell you know just what 
you are giving. 
Q. Would you advise one-pound packages of bees rather than 
1, 2 or 3-frame nuclei? 
A The same number of bees will, of course, be worth more 
with frames of brood than without; but considering the expense 
of expressage on combs, it is likely that a given amount of money 
put in bees without combs will be better than the same money 
put in nuclei. 
Q. Is there any trouble with robber-bees bothering new 
nuclei? 
A. I came pretty near saying always. I’ll modify that by say- 
ing always if honey is not yielding, and care should be taken, 
even when it is yielding. 
Q. Is it possible to winter a 4-frame nucleus packed with chaff 
in an outside case on the summer stand? 
A. It might succeed and it might not. Something depends 
upon the severity of the winter, and the sheltered location. 
Q. Through my carelessness and a poor season I have two 
weak nuclei at the commencement of cool weather, which I am 
desirous of wintering over, as they are headed by two of my best 
queens. How shall I best winter them over? They are of about 
3-frame strength. In this locality people winter bees out-of-doors 
altogether. Our winters are, as a rule, rather open. Sometimes it 
goes to zero, but that is seldom. The bees have a flight about 
every two or three weeks. 
A. One way is to winter both in the same hive. Put in a di- 
vision-board that separates the hive in two equal parts, and put 
the nuclei in these two parts, each nucleus up against the di- 
vision-board, so that they may have the advantage of the mutual 
heat from each other. It is possible they might winter through 
in separate hives, if the hives are well protected. Strengthening 
each nucleus by giving brood and bees (bees alone if the brood 
has all hatched out) from other colonies will help their chances 
if you should try to winter them in separate hives. 
Q. Can a nucleus be wintered on top of a strong colony by 
placing a queen-excluding board between? That is, put two or 
three 1 or 2-frame nuclei in a hive and put it over a strong colony 
with plenty of honey? 
A. I don’t know that anyone has ever tried exactly the thing 
you mention. Something like it is done in the Alexander method 
of putting a weak colony over a strong one in the spring; but in 
that case it is not continued more than three or four weeks. If 
