THOUSAND ANSWERS 
1SI 
smoke because such smoke is safe — is blown in and the entrance 
closed. It should be explained that there is a scvcn-cighths- 
incli space below the frames, so that the smoke blown in at the 
entrance readily spreads and penetrates to all parts of the hive. 
In from IS to 20 seconds that colony will be roaring. The small 
space at the entrance is now opened; the queen is run in, followed 
by a gentle puff of smoke, and the space again closed and left 
closed for about ten minutes, when it is reopened and the bees 
are allowed to ventilate and to quiet down. The full entrance is 
not given for an hour or more or even until next day.” 
Q. What is the Sibbald quick method of introducing queens? 
A. Hunt the queen out that is to be removed and put her in a 
wire cage on top of the frames. Then the queen that is to be in- 
troduced is laid on top of the same frames, too, and left till eve- 
ning. Now remove the old queen and put the new queen in the 
cage from which the old queen has just been taken, and over the 
end of the opening fasten a piece of comb foundation. Place on 
the frames again, after punching a few small holes with a pin 
through the foundation and let the bees release the queen. Some- 
times Mr. Sibbald rubs the dead body of the old queen, that has 
just been killed, over the outside of the cage she has just come 
out of. 
Q. How soon after introducing a queen is it safe to open the 
hive to see if she is all right? 
A. It is a little safer not to disturb the colony for three or 
four days. 
Queens, Keeping. — Q. The bees will take care of their own 
queen in a cage. But if she is caged and put in another colony 
above the excluder, will those strange bees take care of her? 
A. Generally there will be some bees so good-natured as to 
feed a strange queen ; but it is safer to have the cage provisioned, 
and then the queen can feed herself. 
Q. I have always been puzzled how to keep a lot of queens 
when not having immediate use for them. You stated once about 
the maximum length of time one could keep queens in cages 
without danger to their laying powers. I suppose while so caged 
they do not lay any eggs. But even the interruption in laying 
while queens are in the mails is said to be harmful. 
A. In the case you speak of, the queens were kept in small 
cages in a small colony. This was in the spring when there was 
no heavy laying yet, and I doubt if the queens were at all in- 
jured by being kept from laying. My guess would be that a 
queen, or a number of queens, might be thus kept safely for a 
