THOUSAND ANSWERS 
213 
If the bees can get at them more freely, they tear the combs to 
pieces. With a sufficiently large number to be cleaned out, say 
something like a super for each colony, you may go to the other 
extreme and spread them all out so as to let the bees have free 
access to the whole business at once. I spread the supers about 
in my shop cellar, and when all are ready I open the door and in- 
vite all bees to help themselves. They are protected against rain, 
and may remain several days until the bees have them thoroughly 
cleaned out. If you pile them up on top of hives they will be 
cleaned up, but the bees are likely to put some of the honey back 
into the sections. Someone, I think, has reported success by 
piling supers back of a hive, allowing access by way of the bot- 
tom-board without allowing other bees access. I never tried it. I 
have tried putting them in front and it was a failure. It might 
work better behind. 
Selling Bees. — Q. When is the best time to sell bees, to get 
the highest prices? 
A. In the spring. 
Separators. — Q. Do you approve of the separators in supers? 
I have two supers of honey before me now, just taken off, one 
with and one without the division-boards, and I find the bees 
have fastened the sections nearly all over to the board. 
A. I most certainly approve of separators for sections that 
are to be packed for shipping. If the sections are intended for 
home use, it is as well to have no separators. I have no trouble 
with sections being built to separators, but hives are level from 
side to side. Bottom starters help, too. 
Q. What separator do you consider best, fence or sawed 
wood? I ordered sawed wood, slotted top and bottom. 
A. All things considered, I prefer to use a plain wood separa- 
tor, sliced or sawed, with no slots or scallops. 
Sex of Bees. — Q. Does the size and shape of the cell in which 
the bee is reared have anything to do with the kind and sex of 
the bee? Or is it the food on which the larva is fed that deter- 
mines the sex and kind of bee, as the eggs that bring forth the 
three kinds of bees are all laid by the one queen? 
A. The sex of the bees depends upon whether the egg is fer- 
tilized or not. An unfertilized egg produces a drone, a fertilized 
egg a queen or a worker. An unfertilized egg in a worker-cell 
can produce only a drone; a fertilized egg in a drone-cell can pro- 
duce only a worker or a queen. Under normal conditions only un- 
