,illustration3 ,yours truly ,henry ,alley ,,improved ,,queen-,,rearing ,,or ,,how ,,to ,,rear ,,large1 ,,prolific1 ,,long-,,lived ,,queen ,,bees ,the ,result of ,nearly ,half a ,century's ,experience in ,rearing ,queen ,bees1 ,giving the ,practical1 ,every-day ,work of the ,queen-,rearing ,apiary ,,by ,,henry ,,alley ,apiarist ,,illustrated ,,printed ,,for ,,the ,,author ,,by ,,chas4 ,a4 ,,king1 ,,beverly1 ,,massachusetts ,,copyright ,,by ,,the ,,author #aijc ,illustration3 ,improved ,bay ,state closed-end frame ,bee-,hive4 ,used by thousands of ,bee-,keepers many years with great success4 ,construction of brood-frames same as the ,dawzeubaker4 ,frames are reversible and held in position by side boards and two iron rods4 ,,preface ,this little book is written and designed to instruct those engaged in bee-keeping in the art of rearing queen bees4 ,the long experience of the author in this particular branch of apiculture1 as herein detailed1 may prove not only instructive but interesting4 ,that the work may meet the approbation of its readers is the wish of ,,the ,,author ,illustration3 ,illustration of the original ,bay ,state ,bee-,hive4 ,invented and used by ,henry ,alley1 more than twenty years ago4 ,this hive was specially devised for wintering bees successfully on summer stands and for the production of the largest amount of honey4 ,,contents ,page ,breeding queen1 where to keep #af ,cell building1 how to prepare a colony for #ah ,cell building1 method number one #ai ,cell building1 method number two #bf ,cell building1 method number three #bi ,cell building1 feeding while going on #bi ,cell building1 how to prepare eggs for #ba ,cell building1 destroying eggs #bb ,cell building1 theory of using young bees #bd ,cell building1 how to rear the best #bg ,drones1 objectionable #cg ,drones1 how to catch and destroy #cg ,drones1 how to obtain and preserve #dd ,drone-trap1 utility of #df ,honey1 how to prevent candying #ed ,nuclei1 how to form #ca ,nuclei1 how to feed #dd ,pipe for burning tobacco #da ,queen-cell frame1 description of #ch ,queen-cells1 transferring #dj ,queens1 how to care for #di ,queens1 age at which they mate #di ,queens1 virgin1 forcing to mate #ej ,queens1 age at which they lay #ea ,queens1 to know fertile from unfertile #ej ,queens1 fertilizing in confinement #ea ,queens1 respect bees show them #ea ,queen-cells1 destroying #ea ,queens1 comparative size #ec ,queen-rearing1 first improvements #aa ,queen-rearing1 latest improved methods #ab ,queen-rearing1 on a large scale #ad ,queen-rearing1 proper conditions of apiary #ae ,queen-rearing1 to prepare eggs for #af ,queen-breeding colony1 how to start #ai ,queen-breeding hive1 how to make #ag ,queens1 fertile1 how to introduce #cd ,queens1 unfertile1 how to introduce #ce ,queen nursery1 how to use #bi ,queenless bees1 necessity of #bh ,,improved ,,queen-,,rearing ,,or ,how to ,rear ,large1 ,prolific and ,long-,lived ,queen ,bees ,,introduction ,in the year #aheg ,i had very little knowledge of apiculture1 yet ,i had seen bees in hives apparently working1 8making honey0 as it was called in those days by all who kept bees2 had heard all the talk about the 8king bee10 and had seen hives draped in mourning when a member of the bee-keepers' family died4 ,i had also seen the bee-keeper and his family out in the apiary pounding upon tin pans1 ringing the dinner bell1 and raising a hub-bub generally when a colony had cast a swarm4 ,then ,i had seen bees 8carry wax0 on their legs1 etc41 etc4 ,well1 ,i did not require very much experience with bees to find out that all the above performances were indulged in only by ignorant and superstitious bee-keepers4 ,with all the literature we now have concerning apiculture1 some bee-keepers may be found who know no more about bees than those who kept them #ej years ago4 ,in the month of ,july1 #aheg1 ,i found a fine swarm of bees hanging upon a limb of a tree in my garden4 ,the bees were hived in a small packing box1 and at once commenced to build comb and store honey4 ,when fall came the box was well filled with bees and stores1 and the colony went into winter quarters in fine condition1 and came out in the spring strong in numbers1 proving to be a first-class colony in all respects4 ,in the spring of #aheh1 ,i purchased another colony which was in a box-hive that had a #g #i glass in the back side through which ,i watched the bees many hours4 ,well do ,i remember the great interest ,i took in bees at that time4 ,one day while watching the bees through the glass1 ,i saw the queen pass around one of the combs1 and had really seen the great 8king bee40 ,before winter set in1 ,i had not only seen other queen bees but had actually reared a few4 ,then ,i got an idea that ,i had learned all there was to know about bees and queen rearing4 ,but this little bit of egotism was dispelled by each year's experience1 and ,i soon found that there was much to learn about bee-keeping4 ,and now1 after my long experience in queen rearing1 ,i find that no one can live long enough to learn all there is to know about the subject of bees and apiculture generally4 ,surely no one can learn the art of bee keeping in one year as many bee-keepers of the present day claim4 ,well1 at the end of one year's experience1 ,i was seized with a desire to go into queen rearing extensively4 ,by this time ,i had learned that every colony of bees had a queen and that drones were male bees2 and also found out hundreds of things about bees that ,i never before had known4 ,i had discovered that when a colony of bees was deprived of its queen it would at once commence to construct queen cells1 and rear several young queens4 ,rearing queens was so fascinating that ,i soon began to rear them in great numbers1 in fact ,i had them growing at all times during the warm months4 ,of course this was only for amusement as no bee-keepers were in want of queens1 nor was there any demand for them4 ,well1 ,i continued to advance in the art and enlarge my experience1 not only in rearing queens1 but in bee-keeping generally4 ,about this time ,i found a man who had also been 8stricken0 with the bee fever and he had as much experience with bees as myself1 and had reared queens merely to exhibit at a cattle fair held in his town and only three miles from my place4 ,this man had made a frame about twelve inches square1 to which glass was fastened on both sides1 thus forming a one comb observation hive4 ,a small piece of brood comb containing eggs and larvae was fastened at the top of the frame by strings1 and the bees1 of which there were about a pint1 were actually building queen cells4 ,thousands of interested people were watching the bees while at work1 and many of the people were asking all sorts of questions about queens1 bees and honey4 ,my first queens were reared in about the same way as above described4 ,in the year #ahfj ,i practiced queen rearing on a larger scale1 as we had then heard about ,mr4 ,langstroth and his wonderful book and still more wonderful hive1 which is today more marvelous than anything else connected with apiculture4 ,from this time on rapid advancement was made not only in queen rearing but in all branches of bee culture4 ,we soon went from box-hives to movable-comb hives4 ,about this time the famous ,italian bees came in1 and then queen-rearing was carried on in earnest2 not for amusement but queens were reared by the thousand for sale4 ,at first they were sent by express in small one-comb boxes1 then by mail to all parts of the ,united ,states2 later on queens went by mail to all parts of the world4 ,i have continued to rear queens for sale every year since #ahfj4 ,at that time no one had much knowledge of queen-rearing1 and ,mr4 ,langstroth's book was the only guide for every queen-dealer1 and without his hive and book but little could have been done in the way of rearing queens4 ,all who reared queens in those way-back days had good success in obtaining first-class queens4 ,you see no one had got 8on to0 the idea that nature could be cheated and outdone in the production of queen bees4 ,within a few years queens have been reared by such methods that nearly all sold have proved to be worthless1 so that dealers find they must go back and adopt some of the early methods in order to give satisfaction to their customers4 ,,first ,,improvements ,,in ,,queen-,,rearing ,i shall not claim that any very great improvements have been made in the quality of queens reared by the methods given here4 ,having told you how queens were reared in the early days of the queen-rearing business1 ,i can now only give the process of doing the work in other ways by improved methods4 ,it will be understood that after the advent of the movable-comb hive1 bee-keeping took on a rapid move4 ,the second advance of importance was made when ,mr4 ,j4 ,b4 ,parsons of ,flushing1 ,n4 ,y41 imported some ,italian bees4 ,it was soon noised all over the ,united ,states that the yellow-banded bees were better than the common black ones1 or the ,german bee4 ,at this time many bee-keepers were in condition to rear queens and they did so1 and thus the queen-rearing and supply business has been on the increase since the year #ahfb1 or the advent of the ,italian bee4 ,we all had1 or thought we had1 a lot of 8know how40 ,whether we had the know how or not1 no one experienced any trouble in rearing good queens1 all being satisfactory except in purity4 ,every one who purchased ,italian queens expected them to throw all three-banded bees1 and it was found almost impossible to get a breeding queen that could be called strictly pure4 ,there was no fixed purity to the ,italians2 they were and are to this day nothing but a hybrid strain of bees4 ,with the exception of purity everything went on smoothly in queen rearing4 ,although some improvement has been made in the purity of the ,italians1 there are very few pure queens reared2 and bee-keepers continue to find fault with the queens they purchase if there happens to be even but a dozen 8one-banded0 bees in a large colony4 ,,now ,,let ,,us ,,discuss ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,improved ,,methods ,,of ,,rearing ,,queens ,first the nucleus system4 ,any number of combs and bees taken from a full hive constitutes a nucleus colony4 ,we will start on a three-frame nucleus with the ,l frame as a basis4 ,three such combs1 say one of brood in all stages and two of honey and pollen1 with all the adhering bees1 are sufficient to form a good nucleus colony4 ,as there are but few bee-keepers who do not understand the above work1 and as none are likely to begin queen-rearing unless they can handle bees to some extent1 ,i need not go into the little details to describe how to form nucleus colonies4 ,but we will suppose a three-frame nucleus has been formed1 and the bees have been confined in the hive at least #bd hours with a supply of water1 for bees that are deprived of their liberty1 and are rearing brood or queens1 must have plenty of water or the uncapped brood will perish4 ,after #bd hours confinement the colony can be given its liberty and placed on a stand anywhere in the apiary somewhat remote1 of course1 from where they were first taken4 ,after being queenless for this length of time1 the bees will have started several queen-cells and have quieted down and only a few of the older bees will return to the parent hive4 ,now1 to increase the population of the nucleus and to make it thoroughly prosperous1 other bees should be added each night1 for three or four nights in succession1 say at about sunset4 ,this is easily and quickly done by taking a comb of bees from some strong colony and brushing or shaking them down on the ground in front of the nucleus4 ,in doing this care must be used that the queen of the full colony is not taken4 ,the above was practiced by me in my early queen-rearing experience when 8vamping up0 nucleus colonies4 ,i was not long in discovering that there was great advantage in adding young bees as per above4 ,by so doing ,i found that with each fresh lot of bees given the nucleus there would be a new lot of queen-cells started4 ,in a few days the colony will be well established1 and queen-rearing by a most convenient process will be going on in a very successful manner4 ,unless there is plenty of natural forage in the fields1 the colony must be fed continually or inferior queens will be the result4 ,in the course of about five days all the cells will be completed1 that is1 capped2 and from eight to twelve good queen-cells1 most likely1 formed4 ,at about the time the first young queen should appear1 7say the twelfth day from the day on which the eggs were given the bees71 provision must be made for preserving the cells or the young queens4 ,other nucleus colonies must be made up for each cell or queen1 as the case may be4 ,the cells may be transferred at once without danger of destruction from the bees1 provided the bees have been queenless for twelve hours4 ,while bees might not destroy queen-cells if given them before they miss their queen1 ,i find that they cannot be trusted in this respect1 and that it is much safer to give queen-cells to bees that have been queenless at least #bd hours4 ,it is not necessary to cut a hole in the comb to insert a queen cell1 but push your finger down between the combs at the top and place the cell in the space thus made4 ,if more convenient to use a queen nursery when the cells are ripe1 full directions for so doing may be found on another page4 ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,disadvantages ,,of ,,rearing ,,queens ,,by ,,the ,,above ,,plan ,the above way of rearing queens has some advantages and some few disadvantages4 ,the objections to such a method are not very serious1 as they affect only those breeders who rear a large number of queens4 ,when bees are left to rear queens and select locations for the cells1 many of the cells will be built so near each other that they cannot be separated without destroying some of the young queens4 ,i have found that if holes are cut in the combs to make convenient places for queens cells1 the bees are pretty sure to build them exactly opposite each other1 that is1 cells are built on opposite sides of the comb4 ,yet these cells can be removed2 but in separating them the knife must pass through the base of one of the cells2 damage that is easily repaired by a little warm bee's wax4 ,with the above minor exceptions1 the nucleus system as above given is very good4 ,for rearing queens on a small scale1 ,i consider the above method as good and as practical as can be desired4 ,such queens will be found large1 long-lived and in every way will equal those reared under the swarming impulse4 ,if you desire to practice and experiment in queen-rearing1 do not be afraid to try it4 ,it is a good way for the novice to start in on rearing queens4 ,removing the queen from a full colony of bees is practically the same method as above given2 the difference is1 however1 that no more queen's cells are likely to be made than in a three-frame nucleus1 and ,i hardly think one could get any better results by the full colony plan in the end4 ,i very much prefer the nucleus system for rearing only a few queens1 and it will be found much less trouble and much less expensive4 ,,rearing ,,queens ,,on ,a ,,large ,,scale ,i think ,i have given as much advice as a novice will need on the subject of rearing a few queens1 and will now describe how to rear queens by the thousands4 ,in this system a much smaller hive is used for nucleus colonies for keeping the queens until they have become fertile4 ,the little hives1 or boxes1 used in my apiary have always worked as well with me as standard frames4 ,the reader can do as he pleases about using them1 but ,i advise testing the system and judging for ones self as to its merits4 ,bear in mind that ,i am not laying down any stereotyped system of queen-rearing4 ,i shall give only that part of my long experience that will prove of value to the inexperienced bee-keeper who desires to enter queen-rearing2 and ,i hope it will result in the production of much better queen bees than many that are now being reared and sold4 ,i advise the reader to carry out any experiments that this work may suggest to his mind4 ,if any of my readers can improve upon the methods herein given1 ,i advise them1 by all means1 to do so4 ,i shall hold back nothing1 but give in this work a full description and explanation of every valuable point ,i have found in my forty years' experience in rearing queen bees for the bee-keepers of the world4 ,in connection with this business ,i have conducted hundreds of experiments that were found to be impractical and of no value4 ,i think many bee-keepers are in too much of a hurry to rush into print1 when they are seized with an idea that they have made a valuable and important discovery in apiculture4 ,when important discoveries are made it is time enough to make them public after a thorough test4 ,well1 ,i could go on and spread this story out over #bjj pages of this size1 but ,i think a more condensed form will be more comprehensive and better in every way1 therefore ,i will get down to the point at once and drop the lecture part of the subject4 ,,proper ,,condition ,,of ,,the ,,apiary ,,when ,,queen-,,rearing ,,is ,,commenced ,all who undertake to rear queens should understand that before such work should begin the whole apiary should be put in the highest state of prosperity2 and the colonies to be used in queen-rearing made very strong in numbers4 ,the combs of all cell-building colonies should be well filled with honey and pollen4 ,it would be the merest folly to attempt to rear queens when the whole or even a part of the apiary is in a state of semi-starvation4 ,so you see queen-rearing should not be commenced in the spring until the weather is quite warm and the bees have had a chance to breed up1 fill all combs with brood and gather nectar from the early bloom4 ,give the bees time enough on the early bloom to get the swarming fever on4 ,here in ,new ,england1 in ,massachusetts particularly1 the #hth of ,may is about as early as it is safe to commence to rear queens4 ,however1 if the weather is fairly warm in ,april and the first week of ,may1 colonies can be so fed and stimulated that they may think it is about time to get ready to swarm4 ,by the way1 ,i have heard of swarms issuing as early as the #ajth of ,may1 and had one swarm on ,may #aj1 #aijb4 ,now here is a point at the start that should not be lost sight of4 ,in breeding queen bees the same rules should be observed as in the breeding of animals4 ,if desired to rear a colt1 calf1 chicken or any other animal1 the parents selected are not taken from scrubs or inferior stock4 ,the very best are selected4 ,the same principle applies to bees4 ,now for a queen mother take the best queen in the apiary1 also for a drone mother equal care should be taken to obtain the best4 ,of course in the selection of the mother queen color and beauty are important factors to be considered1 and so is prolificness1 longevity1 and honey-gathering qualities4 ,it takes pretty good stock to combine all the above named points4 ,as for gentleness ,i find almost any strain of bees docile enough to be handled with the use of a good bellows smoker4 ,however1 bees that have vigorous dispositions are usually good honey-gatherers1 and no queen need be rejected as a breeder on account of the vicious disposition of her worker progeny4 ,only an occasional queen breeds vicious bees1 and this trait is but seldom transmitted to offspring4 ,,to ,,procure ,,eggs ,,for ,,cell-,,building2 ,,where ,,to ,,keep ,,the ,,breeding-,,queen ,if only a few queens are to be reared1 the mother bee may be kept in a full colony2 and if a few dozen queens only are required1 ,i advise placing a comb that the queens have used once or twice for brood in the centre of a large colony4 ,in about five days this comb should contain several thousand eggs4 ,now some good queens can be reared on this comb by the plan given as the nucleus system2 but if you like to work with bees for amusement and experiment1 try the plan ,i shall now give4 ,when a large number of queens are to be reared1 it will be found a good plan to keep the breeding queen in a small hive having frames about five inches square1 with five frames to a hive4 ,i have used such an arrangement a great many years as above stated1 and find it superior1 in many ways to a full sized frame for getting eggs for cell-building4 ,by this plan no combs are cut or mutilated when a few eggs are wanted1 whereas if full frames are used many good combs will necessarily be destroyed during the season4 ,then again1 it is very much more trouble and work to open a large hive than a small one when necessary to have some eggs to use4 ,any person rearing queens feels the need of time saving devices1 as there is always something to do when queen-rearing is going on2 ,i have found it so every day during the season4 ,one of the small combs will contain enough eggs for fifty queen-cells1 and a good prolific queen will fill such a comb and put an egg in every cell during each twenty-four hours4 ,does not the reader see that by this arrangement there are always fresh eggs at hand1 and the exact age of the eggs can be known to within almost an hour8 ,this one thing alone is a great point with me in my system of queen-rearing1 as ,i can know1 and so can any one who practices this method1 just when to prepare bees for cell-building4 ,if a comb containing eggs is removed every day and a clean comb inserted in its place1 cell-building can go on every day in the week2 and that is the right way to do if a supply of queens is to be kept up to meet the demands of customers whose orders come by every mail4 ,now it may be that one queen will not supply all the eggs needed1 or that it is desired to rear more than one strain of queens4 ,when this is so1 more breeding queens may be used1 and they may be kept in small hives4 ,i have found that one good queen will supply enough eggs for #aejj young queens in one season4 ,illustration3 ,figure #a ,,how ,,to ,,start ,,the ,,queen-,,breeder ,,colony ,i will now describe the hive1 fig4 #a1 for keeping the breeding queen in1 and give the dimensions of all the parts so that any one can make the entire thing4 ,sides of hive1 #f in4 high #g in4 long in4 thick2 ends1 #f #f in41 in4 thick4 ,make rabbit for frames to rest on in4 in the #f #f in4 thick pieces4 ,as the top bar of frame is but in4 thick1 there will be a bee-space of in4 between the cover of the hive and the top of the frame1 and plenty of room under the frames for the bees to cluster and be kept out of the way while the combs are being handled4 ,the bottom of the hive is #i #h in4 in4 thick and is nailed firmly to the bottom of the box4 ,the top1 or cover1 is the same as the bottom only there are two #a in4 thick clamps nailed on to prevent the board from warping4 ,use in4 boards for the entire hive1 excepting the sides1 as these hives must necessarily be out in all sorts of weather1 and rest upon the ground4 ,it will be found that the width of the hive allows for more room than a regular bee-space for four frames1 but this is quite an advantage when handling the frames1 as just a bee-space does not allow sufficient room for easy handling the combs2 and if they go in closely the queen and many of the bees may be crushed when the frames are removed4 ,the dimensions of the frames are as follows3 ,top bar #f in42 bottom bar #e in42 end pieces #e in4 ,the top and bottom bars are nailed to the end pieces4 ,a block is used to form them on when nailed1 so that when the frames are put up they are all alike4 ,to stock this hive with bees1 brood1 stores and queen1 remove from a full colony one comb containing brood in all stages of maturity with the queen and adhering bees4 ,place the hive on the grass1 or a cloth1 and brush the bees from the comb directly in front of it4 ,they will at once run in1 or1 at any rate1 stay about the hive until the combs are transferred to the small frames4 ,to cut the combs in the small frames1 lay the full comb on a clean board1 place one of the little frames over it1 and with a sharp knife cut the brood into the frame4 ,if nicely done no strings or sticks will be needed to keep the brood in the frame4 ,one of the combs should contain honey1 pollen1 etc4 ,the bees will soon repair the damage done the combs and brood1 and1 in the course of #bd hours1 this colony will be in condition for the business of producing eggs for queen-rearing4 ,if any clean and nearly new pieces of comb about the size of the nucleus frame are at hand use them for the breeding-queen to deposit eggs in4 ,never place the empty comb at the side of the hive4 ,the queen will utilize it at once if placed near the centre of the brood-nest4 ,in four days after inserting the comb it will be filled with eggs and larvae in just the light condition for cell-building and queen-rearing4 ,from this time on a new comb can be given the nucleus each day4 ,if desired to start cell-building every day in the week1 eggs will always be found in the right condition for use if the above instructions are followed4 ,now1 ,i dislike the bother of starting queens every day4 ,to avoid doing so and still have plenty of eggs1 ,i use three breeding queens and start cell-building every fourth day4 ,i like the idea of having hundreds of queen-cells growing at one time4 ,then when queens hatch they come in large numbers1 and can be sent out by mail in the same proportion4 ,a large queen-dealer cannot do a successful business on a small scale4 ,he must branch out and have queens by the hundreds on hand at any time during the season from which he can draw a supply of fertile queens when orders are to be filled4 ,,preparing ,a ,,colony ,,of ,,bees ,,for ,,queen-,,cell ,,building ,i think ,i have made the matter of getting eggs for queen-cells so clear that all may understand how to proceed1 and now will give several methods for preparing colonies of bees for queen-cell building4 ,i have always worked on the theory that bees should be put in proper condition for rearing queens several hours before any eggs are given them from which they may rear queens4 ,the entire colony should be put in a 8broody0 state by dequeening and then given six hours at least to realize their queenless condition4 ,there are three ways for doing this4 ,illustration3 ,figure #b ,,method ,,number ,,one ,before giving any of the methods ,i will describe some of the necessary apparatus to use in this arrangement4 ,one of the handiest things for use in the apiary is a wire screen shown in fig4 #b4 ,this screen is made in about the same style as a common window screen and the size of the top of the brood-nest of the hive4 ,i always have at hand some half dozen of these wire covers and they come into use many times when necessary to confine bees in the hive4 ,now when ready to 8seize0 a colony of bees for the purpose of forcing them to rear queens against their natural will1 proceed in this way3 ,if a colony working in sections is selected1 the super should be removed the previous day and all the bees allowed to return to the hive4 ,when the sections are taken off place the screen on and just fasten it by one or two small nails4 ,the next morning fasten the bees in by using a similar screen and suitable for confining the bees so that none can escape4 ,now the colony is ready to be taken to the bee-room and all the bees removed from the hive and combs4 ,to the novice this may seem like a huge undertaking1 yet it is not and does not require one half the time to perform as it does to describe it so that it can be understood4 ,i so arrange my workshop that all the above work is easily and quickly done4 ,when the hive is taken to the bee-room it is placed on the cap of a hive and then ,i just sit down and at once commence operations4 ,the first thing is to give the bees tobacco smoke at the entrance as well as some at the top through the screen1 all the while drum on the hive1 or excite the bees by striking the hands on the sides of the hive4 ,this causes the bees to fill with honey and in the course of ten minutes they are ready and in condition to be brushed from the combs into a box where they will remain quiet until all are removed from the combs and hive4 ,the screen is first removed from the top1 the bees shaken from it1 then the combs are taken out1 one at a time1 and all the bees brushed from them into a hive-cap4 ,while doing this work some of the bees may attempt to fly1 or crawl up the sides of the cap1 if they do1 more smoke is blown among them1 when they soon quiet down and remain so for quite awhile4 ,when all the bees have been removed1 the queen should be hunted up4 ,if the work of finding the queen is rightly done1 it will not require but a few minutes to find her4 ,of course the bees must be pushed over considerably in the operation4 ,the best tool for such a purpose is the wide part of a #d #d section4 ,never use feathers or a small broom for such work4 ,when the queen is found1 the bees are forced into one end of the cap by a sudden strike of the box on the floor1 and then they are quickly dumped into another box the exact size of the hive the bees were taken from4 ,this latter box has a wire-cloth bottom2 the cover is a screen same as above described4 ,this arrangement gives the bees all needed air while confined4 ,it is necessary to nail three pieces of wood inches square across the bottom of the box so that the air will not be shut out when the box is resting on anything4 ,the bees are then put in a cool place until the time arrives for giving them eggs for cell-building4 ,the bees disposed of1 we now have all the brood of a strong colony to take care of4 ,now for the first two or three colonies treated as above1 ,i divide the brood among the weaker colonies in the apiary4 ,by this operation1 the light colonies soon become strong and in condition for the first flow of honey4 ,at this stage of the work1 we have a colony of queenless bees2 the brood disposed of1 and everything is in readiness for starting the bees to building cell-cups in a natural and practical way4 ,we will now suppose the bees have been queenless six hours4 ,the next move is to get the frame1 or piece of comb containing the eggs1 cut in strips and fasten in position so the bees will at once commence work on cell-cups4 ,this work cannot be done in a cold room4 ,have in the workshop a three-wick oil stove1 not only for heating purposes but to use in other necessary work in queen-rearing operation4 ,another thing that must be at hand is a tin vessel in which there are equal parts of rosin and bees-wax4 ,melt these on the oil stove1 mix thoroughly and when quite hot it will be ready for use4 ,illustration3 ,figure #c ,we will now suppose the comb containing eggs for queen-cells has been taken from the hive and is at hand ready to be prepared4 ,this is cut in strips by using a thin1 hot knife by the lines as shown in fig4 #c4 ,now the egg in each alternate cell of the strips should be removed in order that sufficient room may be given for large queen-cells4 ,i know of no better way of doing this than by taking a common 8scratch0 match between the thumb and fore finger1 inserting the 8scratch0 end in the cell and rapidly twirling it for a moment4 ,this effectively destroys the egg as shown in fig4 #d4 ,illustration3 ,figure #d ,now the next thing to do is to fasten the comb on strips of wood and in such a position that the bees will construct a large number of queen-cells4 ,fig4 #e illustrates three rows of completed queen-cells and the manner of fastening the strips of comb to the wood4 ,this is done by lightly dipping the strips of comb in the wax mixture4 ,just touch the edges of the cells of the opposite side of those in which the eggs were destroyed and quickly place the comb on the wood4 ,the strips of wood mentioned here1 but more fully described on another page1 are #a-d inches thick1 #a inch wide and cut any length desired4 ,the queen-cells shown are fastened to such strips of wood described4 ,the cells illustrated are completed and nearly matured1 or1 in other words1 are about ripe4 ,the illustration shows but few cells2 this was owing to the fact that they were built late in the season and from drawn foundation1 in fact1 they were the last hatch of queen-cells of the season #aijb4 ,earlier in the summer1 the bees under the same conditions would have started many more queen-cells4 ,however1 the illustration is the best one ,i have been able to obtain of completed queen-cells4 ,to go back to fastening the strips of eggs to the pieces of wood1 will say that when placing the strips in position if the comb is pressed down a little harder at both ends than it is in the middle1 it will be made a little curving on the underside1 thus giving more room for the queen-cells4 ,but this curving business must not be carried too far1 as too much curving will elongate the cells and the bees will remove the egg from all such and but few queens would be reared4 ,the reader will appreciate the fact that it is almost impossible to lay down any set rules1 or to describe every little detail connected with the rearing of queen bees4 ,i can give all the main points in the business1 but those who rear queens by them must use good judgment and a fair amount of common sense4 ,that is what is needed in the queen-rearing business4 ,experiment and practice are as much needed in queen-rearing as in any other occupation one is at work at4 ,a piece of nice worker comb #e #e inches square will furnish all the eggs a large colony of bees should be allowed to work into queen-cells4 ,such a piece of comb if carefully cut will make about ten strips containing a dozen or more eggs4 ,always give eggs in proportion to the quantity of bees that are to do the work of cell-building4 ,illustration3 ,figure #e ,when the strips of comb are fastened to the sticks and in the frame1 they should be placed in a brood-box and the balance of the space of the hive filled by combs of honey and pollen4 ,in no case use combs that have brood in them4 ,now all being ready set the box of bees in a convenient place on the floor3 put the box of combs between yourself and the bees4 ,with a sudden drop of the box on the floor all the bees will go to the bottom and before they can recover from their surprise1 remove the cover1 place it on the box of combs and quickly place the combs over the box of bees4 ,now all the labor is done excepting giving the bees water until the next morning4 ,all this work can be done without even one bee escaping in the entire operation4 ,the bees can be left in the bee-room over night1 and placed on the stand about #aj o'clock the following day4 ,water may be supplied them while confined by splashing a little over the frames and on the bees1 through the wire cover at the top4 ,when the bees are released they may be somewhat excited1 not being wholly reconciled to loss of their queen4 ,to pacify them place a caged queen at the entrance for a few hours1 then they will quickly quiet down and the queen can be taken away and all will go on as though nothing had happened to the colony4 ,the bees are left #bd hours to build cell-cups1 and then another thing must be done if first-class queens are to be reared4 ,now the colony to which the eggs are given will commence to build from #dj to #fj cell-cups1 or would rear from #dj to #fj queens if none of the cell-cups were removed4 ,but such a thing should never be permitted1 as not one queen out of all those reared would be of any good4 ,should the colony commence to build #fj cell-cups1 the proper thing to do would be to divide that number of cells equally among three strong colonies of bees4 ,well1 you say1 how can this be done8 ,if at this time bees are gathering honey from the fields and in a high state of success1 the cell-cups can be placed above a colony of bees as has been and is now practiced by many breeders of queen-bees4 ,i want it understood1 however1 that ,i do not so advise anyone1 as by the method to follow this very much better queens are reared4 ,yet if bees are in a swarming mood1 pretty good queens are reared over the brood-nest4 ,i shall advise all not to rear queens by above method excepting at swarming time1 as under no other conditions can good queens be reared by such a system when any kind of a queen is in the hive the bees occupy4 ,of course1 if a colony is about to supersede its queen1 fairly good queens are reared while a queen is in the colony4 ,only a few of the queens reared under the supersedence process are first-class4 ,bees do not seem to work with that interest when superseding an old queen as they do when absolutely queenless1 or are about to cast a swarm4 ,,the ,,theory ,,of ,,using ,,young ,,bees ,,in ,,queen-,,rearing ,i have given three methods of preparing bees for cell-building4 ,the final result is the same in all cases4 ,the only difference being in the manner of doing the work of preparing the bees4 ,now1 how many of my readers understand the correct theory of taking all the bees of a colony for such work rather than only a part of it8 ,let me describe4 ,old bees will not and cannot rear good queens2 they will commence cell-cups and complete queen-cells1 but no strong queens will come from them4 ,why is this so8 ,simply because old bees have passed from the stage of nurses to the sphere of honey and pollen-gatherers1 or out-door workers4 ,old bees cannot prepare the proper food for nursing either worker or queen-bee larvae4 ,what are considered old bees in this connection are those that have been made queenless and kept so from three days to a week2 such bees are of no value as cell-builders1 as after being queenless thirty-six hours they seem to lose their enthusiasm and interest in the work4 ,now as to the correct theory of taking all the bees of a colony for cell-building or for rearing queens4 ,by such an operation every nurse bee in the hive is taken1 and this includes thousands of just hatched bees that are maturing each day as nurse bees1 thus keeping up a constant supply of nurses4 ,how many of the readers of this work ever watched bees building queen-cells in an observatory hive8 ,why1 a queen-cell1 until it is capped is never without a worker bee's head in it4 ,the young bees keep a constant watch over the little worm within1 and it is supposed that each bee that thrusts its head into the cell leaves a small amount of royal jelly4 ,you all know that every cell from which a strong and healthy queen has emerged contains a lump of royal food as large as a pea4 ,the amount is greatly in excess of the needs of the royal occupant4 ,it is the young bees that do all the labor in the hive and in rearing queens1 and the more young bees there are engaged in the work the better will be the quality of the queens reared4 ,by this the reader will understand why all the bees of a colony should be used in building cell-cups and in completing queen-cells4 ,has any one connected with the rearing of queen-bees ever before explained this point in any book or publication8 ,notwithstanding the fact that young bees are constantly maturing as nurse bees1 as above detailed1 it is not good policy to compel any given lot of bees to commence cell-cup building a second time4 ,after once starting one batch of cell-cups the interest and enthusiasm has vanished1 and pretty poor work will be done4 ,hens1 ducks and birds of all kinds will sit on their eggs for a time1 but there is a limit to the 8broody0 condition in all such cases4 ,hens have been known to sit six weeks1 or rather have been compelled to sit long enough to 8hatch out0 a second brood of chickens4 ,but in many such cases the nest is deserted before the second lot of eggs mature4 ,it's but little use to overwork ,nature4 ,natural laws must be observed in all such cases4 ,this ,i have tried to apply to all my operations in queen-rearing4 ,,preparing ,,bees ,,for ,,cell-,,building ,,method ,,number ,,two ,my favorite way of preparing bees for cell-building is given in ,method ,no4 #a4 ,no doubt many will say they cannot do any thing of the kind2 'tis too fussy and takes too much time1 etc4 ,it is not fussy nor in any way difficult to perform4 ,however1 ,i will give two other methods for preparing bees for cell-building1 making a colony queenless1 etc4 ,we must start in the same as in case ,no4 #a1 that is1 the sections must be removed the day previous4 ,now proceed in the usual way of 8drumming out0 a swarm4 ,the proper way to do this1 and the way ,i practiced artificial swarming1 or dividing a colony of bees1 is as follows3 ,blow rottenwood smoke among the bees through the entrance2 this so alarms the colony that all the bees commence to fill their sacs with honey4 ,by drumming on sides of the hive1 while smoking is being done1 greatly helps in the operation4 ,when the bees seem ready to go up into the cap1 more smoke should be introduced and a vigorous drumming on the hive kept up4 ,in this way about two-thirds of the colony will run up into the cap4 ,now give them a few minutes to sort of settle down and become quiet4 ,remove the cap1 invert it and throw a cloth over the box4 ,give the bees a few puffs of tobacco smoke under the cloth4 ,in a few minutes the cloth can be removed1 the queen hunted out and the bees dumped into a box same as described in ,method ,no4 #a4 ,by this plan bees1 in either box or frame hives1 can be utilized for queen-rearing4 ,the queen can be re-introduced at once4 ,in a few hours1 bees thus prepared1 will be ready to build queen-cells and all that is necessary to do is to proceed as in case of ,no4 #a4 ,,method ,,number ,,three ,early in the morning remove the queen from a populous colony4 ,at night they will be in a proper condition for cell-building4 ,when ready1 prepare the eggs and queen-rearing hive as given above4 ,remove the queenless colony to a new stand1 twenty feet away1 and put the queen-rearing hive in its place4 ,now after arranging to brush the bees down in front of the latter hive1 take out the combs of the queenless colony and brush or shake1 at least one-half of the bees in front of the queen-rearing hive4 ,they will all run in and at once commence to construct queen-cells1 and the next day will be seen working just the same as if nothing had happened to them4 ,the queen removed in the morning may be given back to the old colony4 ,this operation so depopulates the colony that little will be done in the supers for a week or ten days4 ,but as the combs are filled with brood in all stages1 and as the queen is with them1 the stock will soon recover and get back in fine condition4 ,i have tried to make the above very clear4 ,of course it is all plain and easy to me1 but how other people can translate it so as to understand it is the question4 ,in none of the works ,i have published were the methods made so clear1 but nearly all who read these books have stated that they had no trouble in rearing queens by the methods given4 ,the 8,beekeepers' ,handy ,book10 a work of nearly #bjj pages1 and 8,thirty ,years ,among the ,bees0 were treatises on queen-rearing published by me within the last fifteen years4 ,some #ejjj copies were issued and both books are now out of print4 ,,how ,,to ,,rear ,,the ,,very ,,best ,,queens ,of all the methods ,i have given or shall give for having cell-cups1 or queen-cells completed1 none of them will compare with the one given below4 ,i believe this method is entirely new4 ,certain am ,i that it never has appeared in any publication1 nor has it even been brought to my notice by anyone4 ,after reading what follows the reader will understand why ,i advised letting queenless bees work on cell-cups from twelve to twenty-four hours4 ,in the course of twelve hours after bees have worked on the queen cells1 remove the queen from one of the strongest colonies in the yard4 ,twelve hours later remove one of the side combs from the hive and three or four other combs laterally so as to leave space in the centre of the brood-nest for one of the frames on which the queen-cells are started4 ,now cover up with a super or in any way to suit the convenience of the apiarist4 ,not later than five days remove the frame of completed queen-cells to a queenless colony1 replace the combs in the hive just as they were at the start and reintroduce the queen and never mind about looking the combs over for queen-cells1 as the old queen will be well received and will soon destroy all queen-cells that may have been started4 ,of course if there are cell-cups enough started by the queenless bees1 say #dj or #fj1 not less than three strong colonies should be prepared as per above1 as #bj queen-cells are as many as the largest stock of bees should complete4 ,the above operation does not so disturb the bees that they will desert the sections4 ,in all this work it is better to be quiet and do the work as quickly as possible4 ,also do as much of it at about sunset as that late hour will permit4 ,,necessity ,,of ,,queenless ,,bees ,right here will be found the necessity of queenless bees in the apiary4 ,such colonies must care for the completed queen-cells when removed from the colony that built them until such a time as the cells can be transferred to nuclei or the nursery4 ,one doing a large queen-rearing business will need several queenless colonies at all times4 ,not only must queenless bees be used in caring for queen-cells1 but for queens confined in the queen nursery4 ,when the bees are removed from a hive for the purpose of starting more cell-cups1 the bees that have just completed a batch of cells may be put on the combs and a queen given them at once1 and in a short time1 say two weeks1 such a colony will be in as good condition as any in the yard4 ,this thing can go all through the queen-rearing season4 ,only a few colonies need be made queenless in the beginning1 and then no colony will of necessity need be queenless4 ,i would not advise using one colony for cell-building but once in four weeks4 ,it requires a lot of colonies to rear queens in the above way1 but the results are so satisfactory it will be found much the cheapest in the end4 ,good queens is the main point in queen-rearing4 ,never mind about the cost4 ,if the right methods are used in rearing queens1 good queens will cost no more than poor ones4 ,bee-keepers the world over are interested in the subject of better queens4 ,we all know that queens to supply the demand must be reared by what is called artificial methods4 ,the best methods must be put in practice if the bee-keeping public is to be satisfied4 ,cheap and inferior queens have had their day1 and those who rear the best will get the business and they should have it1 too4 ,,feeding ,,while ,,queen-,,rearing ,,is ,,going ,,on ,it should be understood that when queen-rearing is going on and no forage in the fields1 feeding must be resorted to2 a syrup composed of honey and granulated sugar will answer all right for food4 ,feeding not only keeps up the excitement1 but the interest in the work the bees are doing4 ,keep up a liberal supply until the cells are capped4 ,during the past season ,i conducted some experiments in feeding clear honey and clear sugar syrup while cell-building was going on4 ,the results of my experiments clearly show that sugar syrup with some honey is just as good to feed bees in queen-rearing as the best honey4 ,this fact ,i could not believe until ,i had made the above experiment2 therefore it will be seen that food has no influence whatever on the quality of the queens reared4 ,other conditions and circumstances do have a positive influence on the embryo queens2 large colonies1 thousands of young bees1 plenty of stores of both honey and pollen1 and then when the colony is put in fine condition for queen-rearing1 the result is fine queens4 ,observe all these conditions if success is desired4 ,,the ,,queen ,,nursery ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,use ,,it ,one would naturally think that when a lot of ripe queen-cells are at hand the thing to do would be to form nuclei for the reception of the cells or young queens4 ,it is not so in my case4 ,i never allow queens to hatch in nuclei4 ,my reasons for this are many4 ,i like to secure a large number of queens1 say #ej or #ajj1 and critically examine each one to see that they are all right before making up nucleus colonies4 ,all of my queens are hatched in nurseries and in such cages as illustrated in fig4 #f4 ,the size of these cages is such that #ce of them just fill one standard ,langstroth frame having a thin top bar4 ,these cages are sawed and fitted so nicely that they will stay in the frame without fastenings of any kind4 ,it will be seen that there are two holes in the edge of the cage4 ,one is for a queen-cell1 the other for a small piece of sponge which is filled with honey slightly diluted with water4 ,the water prevents the sponge drying too quickly and the honey furnishes food for the young queens some two weeks4 ,when the cages are ready1 and the cells in them1 a frame is filled and then is placed in the center of a large colony of bees1 and between two full combs of brood4 ,this sort of hive-incubator works splendidly and in the course of #dh hours all the young queens will be hatched out1 when the nursery should be removed and placed in a queenless colony or in a colony nursing unhatched queens4 ,before any young queens are introduced they should be closely examined1 and if any are found not up to the standard1 or in any way inferior1 they should be destroyed4 ,if any cells containing inferior queens are given nucleus1 or inferior queens introduced1 and not looked after until they have been in the hive long enough to become fertile1 it will be found that much valuable time has been lost4 ,i cannot afford to take such chances1 therefore ,i want to see and examine all queens before giving them to colonies4 ,illustration3 ,figure #f ,the above is one of the reasons why ,i use a queen nursery2 another reason is that each nursery cage is equal to a nucleus colony4 ,my plan has always been to have queens ready to give nuclei in three days after removing a laying queen4 ,that is as soon as a virgin queen can safely be introduced in such cases4 ,the queen nursery is one of the most valuable implements any queen breeder can have in his apiary4 ,nothing has ever been devised that equals its usefulness4 ,i surely could not rear and ship the large number of queens ,i do every year without using a nursery1 or going to the expense of running double the number of nucleus colonies to take the places of the nursery cages4 ,the nursery saves about one half the expense in money and bees1 as well as much labor4 ,i not only use the nursery for virgin queens and cell-hatching1 but for keeping a supply of fertile queens all through the season4 ,the nursery illustrated in fig4 #g is of an old pattern1 takes but #ah cages and accommodates only as many queens4 ,illustration3 ,figure #g ,,forming ,,nuclei ,this part of queen-rearing reminds me of the remark made by ,mr4 ,s4 ,m4 ,locke when he returned to ,wenham after spending two or three seasons with ,d4 ,a4 ,jones and ,j4 ,h4 ,nellis1 both of whom were engaged largely in the queen-rearing business4 ,i made up a lot of nuclei while ,mr4 ,l4 looked on and saw my way of doing such things4 8,well10 says ,mr4 ,l41 8,i never saw nuclei made up in such a quick and easy way60 ,my way may be better than some others do it4 ,i plan to do all my work in the easiest and quickest way4 ,i find no time to waste in the queen-rearing business4 ,in forming nucleus colonies ,i will first give a way that all must practice when starting in on queen-rearing4 ,all my nucleus hives1 or boxes1 are the same as is illustrated in fig4 #a4 ,i like this style far better than any ,i have ever tried4 ,always have had the best of success in getting queens fertilized in them1 and1 in fact1 never have had any trouble with these hives in any way4 ,some people suppose1 and naturally enough too1 that where these little colonies are kept in the same yard with strong colonies1 that much robbing would be going on4 ,it is not so1 and ,i never have had any robbing in my apiary4 ,no good bee-keeper1 it seems to me1 so does his work in the apiary that robbing is induced4 ,of course when putting up queens the nuclei must be opened in the middle of the day4 ,sometimes robbers come around to see what is going on4 ,the work of removing a queen is quickly performed and if strange bees appear the hive is closed2 that is1 combs replaced1 cover put on and a handful of grass is thrown against the entrance4 ,while the bees of the colony can find their way out of and into the hive1 no strange bee dares to try to enter4 ,if ,i were about to start in queen-rearing ,i would form nuclei in about this way3 ,rather than destroy the nice straight combs of a standard hive ,i would just look around the country for some box-hives4 ,i really love to go through those back-number things2 they are an eye-sore to me4 ,take the hive into the bee-room and treat the bees same as in case of getting 8bees for cell-building40 ,take off side of hive1 cut out the combs and brush all the bees from them into a hive-cap4 ,when all are out dump the bees into the box used for confining bees for queen-rearing4 ,next move is to cut the combs into the little frames4 ,after first nailing screens to cover entrance to the hives in such a way that the bees will have plenty of fresh air1 the boxes should each have three combs put in them4 ,one of the combs should be brood1 the others may be brood1 honey1 etc4 ,one comb of honey may be put in after the bees are in4 ,have at hand all the covers so they can be put on quickly after the bees are put in4 ,we return now to the bees in the confining box1 and all is in readiness for dividing them up in pint lots among the hives4 ,next step is to get the bees in condition to be handled without flying while they are being doled out to the several hives4 ,blow tobacco smoke among them until they seem quiet4 ,now this does not mean to keep up a flow of smoke until the bees drop to the bottom of the box4 ,use but little smoke at any time1 or until the bees stop running about the box4 ,in the course of #e or #aj minutes they will be ready to handle4 ,strike the bees down into the bottom of the box by dropping it on the floor4 ,with a light measure 7tin one is best7 holding about a pint and having a handle several inches long1 divide the bees among the nucleus hives in nearly equal parts as possible4 ,if the bees have been put in the right condition by the tobacco1 they can be handled just about the same as so many beans4 ,of course there will be a queen to look up4 ,however1 this is an easy matter4 ,rather than spend the time to look her up she is allowed to go in with the bees4 ,when the nuclei are formed1 the bees in the hive in which the queen happens to be will be found more quiet than those that have no queens4 ,unless ,i have some use for such a queen she is allowed to remain with the bees and build up a prosperous colony2 that is1 prosperous for such a small hive4 ,sometimes ,i have as many as half a dozen queens caged in my bee-room4 ,they are placed on the bottom sash of the window and all the bees in the room collect and cluster on the cages1 attracted and held there a long time by the queens4 ,the bees feed and otherwise take good care of them4 ,another way to do1 and a thing ,i often do is this3 ,i sometimes purchase bees in box-hives1 transfer the combs and then put bees and combs in a hive that takes #ac of the frames1 using two sections for a large colony4 ,the #bf combs give a large amount of breeding room and such a colony very quickly builds up to a large and prosperous one4 ,such a hive is illustrated in fig4 #h4 ,illustration3 ,figure #h ,the bees thus treated soon repair the combs and get into fine condition to be transferred to the small hives4 ,when nuclei are formed as above1 they should be kept confined in the hives from #bd to #dh hours before being released1 then remove the screens at night when too late for bees to fly4 ,the next morning the colony will be found ready for business4 ,by this time the bees will have more or less queen-cells1 or cell-cups started1 and fully reconciled to the new state of things1 and only a few of the older bees will return to the stand they had previously occupied4 ,the only thing that can be done with these hives is to set them on the ground in any place in the apiary4 ,still1 it is a good idea to take them away from home for several weeks when they may be returned to the home yard and no bees would return to the old location4 ,i sometimes have several queen-rearing yards two miles apart where my nuclei are kept during the entire season--several hundred nucleus colonies are made up and at once taken away and in this way our apiaries are established1 but for nuclei only4 ,if more convenient to do so bees may be brought from a distance for forming nucleus colonies1 and when this method is practiced the bees can be placed in the home yard4 ,this plan works nicely as ,i have found when forming nuclei4 ,,introducing ,,queens ,we have now come to one of the most interesting parts of apiculture1 and that part of queen-rearing that has been the cause of much trouble and a great deal of discussion for many years4 ,when it comes to the introduction of queens1 either fertile or unfertile1 nearly all bee-keepers1 whether experts or novices1 are all at sea4 ,in the case of introducing unfertile queens1 one thing should be kept in mind1 namely1 the older the virgin queen the more difficult and dangerous it is to safely introduce them4 ,virgin queens1 so far as bees are concerned1 cease to be 8baby0 queens when they are three days old2 after that it is very difficult to introduce them1 though ,i have no trouble in introducing them successfully by using tobacco smoke4 ,i cannot say which is the most difficult to introduce1 virgin or fertile queens4 ,it requires in either case some little experience in order to be successful4 ,some times bees will destroy a strange queen even when she is introduced under the most favorable conditions4 ,no one can introduce a virgin queen successfully unless the bees to receive her have been queenless at least three days4 ,in all my experience ,i have practiced but one method of introducing queens4 ,it is what ,i term the three-day plan4 ,i seldom lose a queen by it4 ,no doubt other bee-keepers have as good methods of introducing queens as ,i have4 ,but the first and last queens ,i have introduced were by the system given below4 ,i cannot think of giving up a sure thing for something ,i know nothing about4 ,,how ,,to ,,introduce ,,virgin ,,queens ,my plan is to let colonies1 whether full stocks or nucleus1 remain queenless three days1 or not far from #gb hours4 ,then just before dark the queens are given the bees by this process3 ,i generally have from #be to #ej virgin queens to introduce at one time4 ,the cages are placed in a convenient box having a handle4 ,then as many plantain leaves as there are queens to introduce are pulled and put in the box ready for use4 ,these leaves are for closing the entrance to each hive in which queens are to be placed4 ,armed with the pipe before mentioned1 all is in readiness for introducing the queens4 ,the feeder used at the top of the hive is removed1 a good dose of smoke is blown in among the bees and combs4 ,the feeder replaced until the stopper in the cage is removed1 and then the queen by a quick motion is thrown out and into the feeder hole4 ,then the feeder is again quickly put in position1 and no further attention is given the bees4 ,i have introduced successfully as many as fifty virgin queens in thirty minutes4 ,the art of introducing unfertile queens requires more experience to be successful than it does to introduce fertile queens4 ,in fact1 one must be very apt1 possess a good deal of tact1 and ,i can almost say1 must be very scientific4 ,however1 most any bee-keeper can learn how to perform such work successfully4 ,one may read how others do these things1 but practical knowledge1 in order to know all the little details of such intricate and delicate work as introducing queens can only be had by long practice and experience4 ,just how much tobacco smoke to give the bees when introducing a queen is a point that requires more or less practice and good judgment4 ,i never have been so unfortunate as to give bees too much smoke at such times4 ,am not certain that bees can be killed by tobacco smoke if they can get fresh air soon after smoking them4 ,the effect of the smoke soon passes off and the bees resume a normal condition4 ,bear in mind that unless the work of introducing queens by using tobacco is done very late in the day1 or on some cool day when bees cannot fly very much1 your apiary will be ruined1 as robbing may be induced4 ,tobacco smoke puts the bees in such a condition they cannot defend their stores from robber bees1 and once robbing is commenced among the small nuclei it is almost impossible to stop it4 ,should such a thing happen it would be necessary to remove the entire nuclei to a distant location4 ,,introducing ,,fertile ,,queens ,it requires some experience and practice to introduce fertile queens4 ,allow all full colonies to be queenless three days before giving them a strange queen4 ,even a queen removed from a colony but twenty-fours1 if returned would be received as a strange queen4 ,now when the colony has been queenless seventy-two hours1 give the bees tobacco smoke and let the queen in2 or allow the bees to eat the candy-food out and liberate her4 ,the smoke from a cigar or pipe will do to introduce fertile queens1 but not virgin queens4 ,never put a queen near the bees of a colony she is to be given to until ready to introduce her4 ,many make this mistake4 ,toward dark is the time to introduce queens whether or not tobacco is used4 ,certainly this has been my experience4 ,in introducing queens by using tobacco it is not necessary to give the bees a powerful dose of smoke4 ,give enough smoke so that the bees will feel the effects of it pretty well4 ,the tobacco sort of odorizes the combs1 bees and queen1 so that all are scented alike4 ,when the bees recover from the effects of the smoke they really don't remember whether they were ever without a queen1 so they take kindly to the new queen and no trouble ensues4 ,i once tried a 8chew0 of tobacco4 ,was on my way to school4 ,in a short time ,i didn't care whether school kept or not1 in fact1 ,i hardly knew anything about it ,i was so sick4 ,that was my first and last 8chew0 of tobacco4 ,now ,i imagine the bees feel somewhat in that way when they are made sick by tobacco4 ,bees cannot be killed by tobacco if they are given the air4 ,the plantain leaves by which the entrance hole is stopped is thrown out1 or so loosened before the next morning that the bees get all the air they need4 ,one passing by the hives in which queens were introduced the previous evening cannot discover that such work was done by any indications about the hive or bees4 ,,objectionable ,,drones2 ,,how ,,to ,,catch ,,and ,,destroy ,if black bees1 hybrid bees1 or1 in fact any bees that are to be used in queen-rearing have undesirable drones among them they can be easily caught and destroyed4 ,the most effective way of doing this is when the bees are put to work building queen-cells4 ,my way of doing it is as follows3 ,at the time the hive for cell-building is prepared and is ready to place over the bees as given on page #bc1 a metal division-board is put on the box and then the hive containing the prepared strips1 combs1 etc41 is quickly placed on the metal4 ,nearly all the worker bees at once go up into the box above1 leaving the drones below4 ,illustration3 ,fig4 #i ,illustration3 ,fig4 #aj ,in placing the bees on the stand it is not necessary to use smoke of any kind4 ,first1 place a bottom-board in position and quietly raise the box containing the bees1 letting the rear end strike the bottom-board in such a way that the combs will not be disturbed and gradually lowering the hive so as not to crush any bees4 ,the box of drones may be so placed against the front end of the bottom-board that all the young bees1 if any are left in the box1 may run out1 leaving the drones below the metal to perish4 ,just such a frame as is used for the wire screen cover may be used to nail the metal to1 as the entire top of the box should be covered in order to catch all the drones4 ,how to catch and destroy drones in full colonies will be explained under the head of 8,drone and ,queen-traps40 ,,description ,,of ,,queen-,,cell ,,frame ,in my early experience in rearing queens ,i used combs in standard ,l frames to attach the strips of comb containing the eggs for queen-cells4 ,while such an arrangement worked well in #c-;frame nucleus colonies1 there are disadvantages in so doing when used in full colonies and by my present system of queen-rearing2 therefore ,i adopted the all-wood frame and in combination with the wood-strips as shown in fig4 #e and it works nicely4 ,illustration3 ,figure #aa ,the frame is a standard ,l style into which are nailed two pieces of wood ,a ,a4 ,there are four notches cut in on the inner edges two inches a part1 into which the four pieces of wood are placed and are thus held firmly in position4 ,by examining the queen-cells illustrated in fig4 #e1 it will be seen that they are long and pointed1 also very heavily waxed and corrugated4 ,they do not much resemble the row of queen-cells lately illustrated in one of the bee-papers4 ,the heavy waxing and large1 long cells are the strongest indications that such cells contain very hardy and perfect queens4 ,fig4 #i illustrates a perfect queen-cell1 while fig4 #aj shows a queen-cell that always contains inferior queens4 ,queen-cells that are short1 blunt-end1 thin-walled and thinly waxed1 as shown in fig4 #aj1 contain very inferior queens1 and all such cells should be destroyed4 ,they are just such queen-cells as bees make when they have a queen of any kind in the hive4 ,the cells shown in fig4 #e were built in a powerful queenless colony late in ,september1 #aijb1 and were the last lot of cells built in my apiary that season1 consequently not as many cells were built as would have been the case had the season not been quite so far advanced1 yet the number of cells are as many as the strongest colony of bees should be allowed to build or finish up from the #bd-;hour cell-cups4 ,the mistake many queen-breeders make is in permitting one colony of bees to build so many cells in one batch4 ,illustration3 ,figure #ab ,a colony that has cast a swarm seldom leaves over eight or ten queen-cells4 ,in rearing queens it seems to me the breeder might be governed somewhat as to the number of cells a colony should build by the judgment of the bees when working as ,nature designed them to work4 ,however1 bees do not do things as we think they should1 therefore many try to improve matters1 and ,i freely admit that ,i think in some cases man has made the bees do many good things they would not have done had they not been compelled to1 or been assisted to do in their work4 ,for instance1 let us take up the way bees construct queen-cells when left to do it in their way1 or1 in the natural way4 ,fig4 #aa illustrates how bees build queen-cells when they have their way in the matter4 ,now how can cells built in that manner be cut out without destroying many of them8 ,it cannot be done4 ,the cells are built in a cluster and all fastened to each other4 ,some of them could be patched up as described on another page1 and many good queens would be reared4 ,the very best queens are produced by the cells built as shown in the cluster1 nevertheless4 ,fig4 #ab illustrates the improved way of compelling bees to construct queen-cells4 ,it will be seen that all the seven cells can be separated without destroying any of them when necessary to cut them out to place in the nursery or in nuclei4 ,,transferring ,,cells ,,to ,,nuclei ,,or ,,to ,,the ,,queen-,,nursery ,as queen-cells are now built so that they are easily cut out and separated without destroying any of them1 the work of transferring them to nuclei or to the queen-nursery is not difficult1 nor does it require much time or labor to complete the work4 ,put all the cells in the nursery and allow them to hatch and then after selecting the best queens introduce them to nucleus colonies prepared as given on another page4 ,sometimes there is difficulty in separating all the cells without cutting into the side of a few of them4 ,excepting the time required to patch them up1 no great harm is done4 ,when the cells are ripe1 and that is on the twelfth day from the day the cells were started1 remove from the hive1 brush the bees from them and at once take them into a warm room1 providing the weather is cool1 and 'tis most always cool in the months of ,may and ,june4 ,the knife used to separate the cells should be very thin1 sharp and warm4 ,if a cell is cut into1 just take a piece of thin foundation1 slightly warm it1 place it over the aperture and at once smooth it down with a warm knife so that it will be perfectly air-tight1 if not so done1 the queen might not hatch out1 and she certainly would not if she is not within six hours of being ready to4 ,if a patched cell is given to a nucleus colony1 and not made perfectly air-tight1 the bees would quickly destroy it4 ,bees will not accept any inferior work about queen-cells4 ,perfection is their motto4 ,nevertheless1 ,i sometimes think bees lack in judgment in many things2 such for instance as in destroying a fine young queen when they seem badly in need of one4 ,but they lack in judgment very much when they use their stings to their own destruction4 ,,description ,,of ,,pipe ,,for ,,burning ,,tobacco ,i have always used tobacco smoke for light handling of bees1 but more particularly for introducing queens4 ,i shall state here that for general use in the apiary tobacco is not the thing to burn4 ,doing light work and temporary use the tin pipe can be made to work all right4 ,as ,i am constantly working in my queen-rearing apiary1 ,i find tobacco smoke much the handiest1 as well as the most convenient4 ,i do not wish any reader to think ,i recommend the filthy weed because ,i am a tobacco fiend4 ,although ,i have used the vile stuff in my apiary more than forty years1 ,i have not been able to acquire the tobacco habit4 ,so it will be seen that in order for me to use tobacco about my bees1 ,i must have some special device to burn the stuff in4 ,i devised the pipe illustrated in fig4 #ac many years ago4 ,body of pipe is about #f inches long in4 in diameter and made of tin4 ,at each end is a wooden stopper1 one a mouth piece1 the other has a in4 tin tube running through it and projecting about an inch beyond the wood through which the smoke is directed among the bees4 ,illustration3 ,figure #ac ,the pipe is filled with fine1 dry tobacco1 and is lighted by placing the small tube in the mouth and puffing away the same as any old smoker does when he puts fire to his old ,t4 ,d4 ,when the pipe is well fired up1 the mouth piece is put in and all that is needed to break up a town meeting is to blow the breath through the pipe4 ,full colonies of bees can be handled by using tobacco smoke1 but they do not take kindly to it1 and sometimes resent the insult with a vengeance4 ,a good bellows smoker filled with dry1 rotten wood is much the best thing to use when opening a hive of bees4 ,but in introducing queens and light work1 in the apiary1 the tin pipe will be found very valuable4 ,of course no one would think of using tobacco when extracting4 ,in putting up queens ,i find the pipe very handy4 ,it is held between the teeth1 the cage in the left hand and the queen and bees handled with the right hand1 as both hands are at liberty4 ,well1 how handy6 ,,what ,,to ,,do ,,with ,,small ,,nuclei ,,in ,,the ,,fall ,if the queens are allowed to stay in the little hives late in the season and long enough to fill the combs with brood1 and the colonies are well fed1 there will be a fine lot of bees in the fall when all the queens have been taken away1 and they may be united and wintered in good condition4 ,make hives in two sections same as illustrated in fig4 #h4 ,these hives are the same in every way as the little boxes excepting they are made to take #ac combs instead of four combs4 ,use two sections in winter as this gives sufficient capacity for wintering a large numbers of bees4 ,in three days after the queens are removed from the nuclei1 they are in condition to be safely united with little or no trouble4 ,get the winter hive ready1 give it a stand near the nucleus the queen is in that is to be given the united colonies1 and then take the queenless nuclei to that stand and at once place bees1 combs and all in the large hive4 ,put in as much brood as possible1 placing it in the center of the hive4 ,now the tobacco pipe described above comes in here pretty handily4 ,just give each small colony a puff of smoke before starting them1 and all the bees and queen will at once adapt themselves to their new home4 ,few if any bees will return to the old stand4 ,feed the newly formed colonies about #bj lbs4 syrup to which several pounds of good honey has been added to prevent granulation4 ,illustration3 ,above illustration gives a partial view of the author's queen-rearing apiary4 ,the person on the left is ,s4 ,m4 ,locke1 former editor of the ,american ,apiculturist2 on the right is the author4 ,this photo was taken in the summer of #ahhb4 ,there has been but little change in my apiary since the picture was made4 ,when cold weather sets in1 put the colonies in the cellar4 ,in the spring when placed on the stand1 put on outside cases1 fix them up warm and if need be feed more syrup1 and my word for it1 you will have some fine colonies with which to form early nuclei when needed4 ,i had nuclei enough in the fall of #ahib to form #ba strong colonies of the kind above mentioned4 ,,to ,,get ,,drones ,,and ,,preserve ,,them ,,the ,,entire ,,season ,much has been said in the various bee-papers as to how drones can best be obtained and preserved the entire queen-rearing season4 ,here is how it is done in the ,bay ,state ,apiary4 ,when ,i have settled upon the colony that it is most desirable to rear drones from1 a full sheet of drone comb is placed in the centre of the brood-nest4 ,there being no drone comb of any amount in the hive1 the queen at once puts an egg in each cell4 ,this comb is allowed to remain in the colony till most of the drone brood is capped1 then it is removed and placed in a queenless colony1 or one that is caring for queen-cells1 or has a lot of virgin queens in the nursery4 ,another frame of drone comb is at once placed in the same hive4 ,the bees1 finding they have no drones or drone-brood1 at once commence to rear another lot4 ,this goes on all through the season4 ,i have found that one colony of bees will supply all the drones needed for the entire queen-rearing season1 or for many thousands of queens4 ,please understand that when forage is cut off1 the colony must be fed in order to stimulate drone brood-rearing4 ,if the reader knows of any better way to get drones for queen-rearing or for doing any of the things on the foregoing pages1 by all means adopt and practice them4 ,i have given you methods that have been successful many years4 ,,when1 ,,what ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,feed ,,nuclei ,i think ,i can save all who use my system of nuclei very much trouble by giving instructions how to care for such colonies1 and to make the method a success1 and prevent robbing in the apiary4 ,under no circumstances ever feed anything but plain sugar syrup to the small colonies4 ,if you use honey your entire nucleus apiary will be ruined within a few hours1 providing there are any full colonies of bees near them4 ,sugar syrup is all that is needed to keep the nuclei up to the highest standard of prosperity4 ,there are three reasons why such small colonies should be fed as above stated4 #a4 ,to keep them in food4 #b4 ,to prevent the bees from deserting the hives and #c1 to stimulate the bees and cause the queens to fly and mate promptly4 ,now the last reason is very important4 ,unless these little families of bees are fed as often as each five days1 the bees will desert the hive 7swarm out71 even though they have plenty of stores and brood4 ,of course they will not 8swarm out0 unless there is a queen to go with them4 ,make the syrup as follows3 ,put #ac lbs4 of granulated sugar in a #aj quart bucket and add enough water to fill the receptacle4 ,this is about right--not too thin nor too heavy4 ,see that all the sugar is dissolved before using4 ,the feeder illustrated in fig4 #ae is cone-shaped1 made of tin and is atmospheric in principle4 ,when filled it is inverted2 the opening covered by a piece of thin cloth1 the collar 7a7 put on to keep the cloth in place1 and when thus prepared the food will not leak out4 ,an aperture1 an inch in diameter1 is made in the cover of the hive about an inch from the front edge2 and as the apex of the feeder is but seven-eighths of an inch in diameter1 is held firmly in place1 and no amount of heavy wind will dislodge it4 ,illustration3 ,figure #ad ,illustration3 ,figure #ae ,the small quantity of syrup placed in the feeder is sufficient to encourage the bees for about five days1 when more food should be supplied4 ,it is understood1 of course1 that no feeding is necessary when there is plenty of natural forage for the bees to gather4 ,i know of no other feeder1 or system of feeding that can be applied to work so well as the one above described4 ,figure #ad represents one of the small nucleus hives with the cone-feeder in position4 ,as water during a rain may leak into the hive around the feeder1 it is always placed in the front part of the cover4 ,always place the hive in such a position that the rear end is slightly elevated4 ,this keeps the water from running in at the entrance1 and if any water gets in at the top it quickly runs out4 ,the success of my nucleus system depends largely upon the manner of feeding4 ,these little miniature colonies are unlike large colonies4 ,they can only care for themselves when forage is abundant4 ,feed them liberally and success will follow4 ,illustration3 ,figure #af ,,the ,,drone-,,trap ,,in ,,connection ,,with ,,queen-,,rearing ,the reader's attention is called to the utility of the drone-trap in queen-rearing4 ,it's a wonder to me how it is that any queen breeder can produce queens that can be called pure in the same apiary where there are anywhere from ten to forty full colonies of bees sending out their millions of drones every fine day throughout the season4 ,it has always been my practice to use the drones from only one colony for mating young queens to4 ,how else can any queen-breeder know by what strain of bees his young queens are mated to8 ,drone-traps are kept at the entrance of my hives the entire season1 excepting on the hive from which the drones are allowed to fly4 ,i do not like a haphazard way of mating queens4 ,there is no way by which the queen breeder can have absolute control of the fertilization of his queens as can be done by using the trap4 ,if you come into my apiary between ,may #bj and ,oct4 #a1 you will find traps on every hive in the yard4 ,the trap in controlling swarming and catching the thousands of useless drones has a world-wide reputation as all practical bee-keepers well know4 ,illustration3 ,figure #ag ,i regret very much to have to say that few if any of the supply dealers are sending out queen-traps that are of any value4 ,about all who use the traps have an idea that they can improve its construction4 ,few of these people realize that all those supposed improvements were tested in my yard years before they ever saw the trap4 ,yet many of these useless and needless improvements have been attached to the trap by those who are selling them1 rendering the trap almost worthless4 ,an improved queen and drone-trap is illustrated in fig4 #af4 ,this trap is so constructed that no bees are destroyed by smothering4 ,the trap does not clog and the bees have a clear and easy way through it1 in and out of the hive4 ,three sides are covered by perforated metal1 thus affording abundance of ventilation to the hive at all times4 ,the trap prevents any bees from decamping either before or after a swarm has issued or has been hived4 ,when a swarm issues1 all that need be done is to move the hive the bees issue from to a new location1 and put an empty hive in its place2 take the trap and place it at the entrance of the new hive2 the swarm soon returns1 and while the bees are running in1 draw the top slide to release the queen1 and she will enter with the bees4 ,then stand back and see the swarm rush in pell-mell and take possession of the hive4 ,whew6 what fun on a hot day to have all this work done without any effort on your part2 no climbing trees1 fretting1 worry or loss of bees4 ,last season ,i saw a trap in ,boston that was put up by one of the largest supply dealers in the world4 ,i was amazed when informed that any man who ever kept bees would send out such a thing4 ,the dealer who had it called it the 8,alley0 trap4 ,i said ,i invented the ,alley trap1 but ,i would not own up as the inventor of a thing like the one in question4 ,i have not dealt in the traps for many years4 ,but ,i am so disgusted by what ,i have seen of the worthless things manufactured by other people1 ,i shall take up the manufacture of them again4 ,fig4 #ag represents old style trap4 ,,broom ,,for ,,brushing ,,bees ,the first year ,i had bees ,i found that feathers were not just the thing with which to brush bees1 so a corn broom1 such as is used for clothing was utilized1 but not until more than one-half the broom was cut out4 ,with a sharp knife cut out nearly two-thirds of the straw material just under the binding4 ,then when the bees are brushed off the combs none will be destroyed if any are half way in the cells4 ,this kind of a brush is called the 8,coggswell broom40 ,i greatly mistake if ,i did not sell the ,coggswell ,brothers of ,groton1 ,n4 ,y41 the first broom they ever used4 ,the one ,i use and the so-called ,coggswell brush are quite different4 ,there is stock enough in the ,coggswell to make a dozen of the kind used by me4 ,see ,fig4 #ah for illustration of broom4 ,illustration3 ,figure #ah ,,points ,,in ,,queen-,,rearing ,,to ,,insert ,a ,,queen-,,cell ,when a cell is introduced1 it is not necessary1 nor is it practical1 to cut the comb to insert the cell in1 as recommended by some bee-keepers4 ,when a queen has been removed and the combs replaced in the hive1 just thrust your little finger down between the combs near the top-bars1 and thus make room for the cell and immediately place it in the opening made4 ,the bees will not destroy the cell if it contains a healthy queen4 ,if it is late in the season and the colony from which the queen is taken is weak in numbers1 it will be necessary to place the cell in the middle of the cluster4 ,even in this case1 you will not be obliged to do any cutting as room can be made for the cell by pushing the finger through one of the combs4 ,place the cell1 small end downwards1 in the aperture and close the hive4 ,,queens1 ,,how ,,to ,,preserve ,,and ,,care ,,for ,,them ,at the swarming season many bee-keepers have more or less queen-cells1 and sometimes young queens1 they would like to preserve if possible to do so and if proper fixtures were at hand to aid them in carrying out their desires4 ,at just that time several cages1 such as are described on a previous page and are used in the queen-nursery1 would be the right thing to have4 ,remove the cells from the hive at the proper time1 place them in the nursery-cages and after supplying each cage with food sufficient for a week1 or longer1 place the nursery in some full colony1 according to directions given on another page in connection with the description of the nursery4 ,a much better way for the novice to dispose of queen-cells would be to supersede old queens and at once insert the queen-cells4 ,if this seems too risky1 dequeen the hive a few days before the cells are matured1 say on the fifth day after a swarm issues4 ,this method of dequeening would do away with the necessity of nucleus colonies which one would be obliged to have in order to preserve young queens until fertilized4 ,,age ,,at ,,which ,,queens ,,mate ,the readers of the different bee-periodicals have not failed to notice the reports1 from time to time1 of queens being fertilized when two or three days old4 ,i am inclined to think that all who make reports of queens being fertilized when under five days old must be mistaken4 ,i never knew such a thing to happen in my apiary4 ,have had thousands of young queens take the mating flight when but five days old1 but never knew one to do so when under that age4 ,the fact that ,i spend all my time during the queen-rearing season in the yard among my nucleus colonies1 and that every means is used to force the young queens to fly and become fertile at the earliest moment possible1 should be sufficient to satisfy the reader that ,i am making no wild statement in this matter4 ,,forcing ,,queens ,,to ,,make ,,the ,,mating ,,flight ,,and ,,to ,,commence ,,to ,,lay ,,promptly ,the queen dealer is anxious to have his queens mate as soon as possible after they arrive at the proper age4 ,no special pains need be taken while there is a flow of honey to force the queens to take a flight1 as they readily do so themselves4 ,after the honey harvest is over1 it is quite another affair4 ,at this time a young unfertile queen will not leave the hive1 unless encouraged to do so by feeding1 when under ten or twelve days old4 ,yet1 if the weather is favorable1 that is1 if the day is clear and warm1 and but little wind1 ninety-nine out of every hundred queens can be forced to fly on the fifth day after they emerge from the cell4 ,feeding for this purpose has been an important feature for years in my apiary4 ,,how ,,to ,,know ,a ,,fertile ,,queen ,,from ,,an ,,unfertile ,,one ,one who has any considerable experience in queen-rearing has no trouble in distinguishing a fertile queen from one that is unfertile4 ,in twelve hours after a queen has mated there is a perceptible increase in her size4 ,not only is her abdomen larger around1 but it is also longer4 ,these conditions are noticeable in the early part of the season1 but at the last of ,september and during the month of ,october some other way of judging and knowing whether or not a queen has been fertilized must be adopted4 ,while queens that are fertilized early in the season will at once make preparations to deposit eggs1 the late fertilized queens do not4 ,that is1 the late fertilized queens will not as quickly increase in size after becoming fertile1 as they do earlier in the season4 ,now to decide positively that a queen is fertile ,i have tested the matter in this way3 ,about half a pint of bees are taken from a colony having an unfertile queen and allowed to run in the hive of the fertile one4 ,if the queen in the latter hive proves to be fertile1 the strange bees will not molest her2 if unfertile1 the bees introduced may at once ball and eventually destroy her4 ,this is a simple and quick way to test the matter1 and applies only to nucleus colonies1 though it may be practiced more or less successfully in full colonies4 ,another way to decide whether or not a queen is fertile is to feed honey for a day or so4 ,if fertile she will deposit a few eggs1 and lay while the feeding is continued4 ,,age ,,when ,,young ,,queens ,,commence ,,to ,,lay ,,after ,,becoming ,,fertile ,young queens1 as a rule1 commence to lay from thirty-six to forty-eight hours after they become fertile4 ,the time varies according to the season4 ,during the honey harvest nearly every young queen will commence to lay in about thirty-six hours after mating4 ,later in the season1 when no honey is being gathered1 it will be from forty-eight hours to three days4 ,i never have found a young queen laying when less than seven days old4 ,,fertilizing ,,in ,,confinement ,i believe there is not a well authenticated case recorded where a queen was ever fertilized in confinement4 ,why should any one desire to have queens fertilized in any other way than the one provided by nature8 ,by the use of the improved appliances for controlling and destroying useless and worthless drones1 it is an easy matter to have any and all queens mated to any strain of drones desired4 ,a practical method of having queens fertilized in confinement will not be devised for a long time to come4 ,however1 no one can tell what a day may bring forth4 ,there are a good many wise heads at work upon the knotty questions connected with bee-culture4 ,,respect ,,bees ,,show ,,their ,,queen ,when a fertile queen moves about the combs her subjects always open a way for her to pass1 and the bees seem to vie with each other in the respect they show their ruler4 ,the virgin queen never has much respect shown her4 ,the workers do not even trouble themselves to get out of her way when she moves about the cluster4 ,she must run over the bees and get about the best she can4 ,when a hive is opened and combs removed1 a virgin queen is pretty sure to take wing1 especially if the operation of removing the frames is not performed quietly1 or late in the day4 ,however1 there is no danger of the queen being lost as she will fly but a short distance from the hive and immediately return4 ,,destroying ,,queen-,,cells ,,when ,,introducing ,,queens ,as stated on a previous page1 some queen-cells will be built on the combs that have brood in them4 ,it will not be necessary to look the combs over and destroy those cells if a young queen is introduced4 ,in the course of twenty-four hours after the queen gets possession of the combs1 she will destroy the cells1 that is1 the queen will open them near the base and sting the nymph1 or nearly matured queen as the case may be1 and the bees will soon finish the work of destroying the cell1 and removing the dead queen4 ,there are1 however1 exceptions to this rule1 and once in a while a young queen is permitted to 8hatch out0 and take possession of the colony4 ,in that case1 the queen just introduced is destroyed4 ,this so seldom happens1 and does not happen at all except in cases where an old queen is introduced1 that it is not worth while to spend time in looking the combs over for queen-cells4 ,,the ,,observatory ,,hive ,,for ,,studying ,,the ,,habits ,,of ,,bees ,i know of no better way for the novice to study the habits of the honey-bee than can be done by an observation hive1 such as is illustrated in fig4 #ai4 ,this hive has but one comb which is inserted between two plates of glass4 ,anyone can make such a hive at small expense4 ,get out a frame1 groove for the glass to slide in1 leaving an inch and a quarter between the glass for the comb and frame4 ,wooden covers are used to keep out the light4 ,arrange it so that the bees pass to and from the hive under the bottom sash of a window1 and in such a way that no bees can enter the room4 ,when thus arranged there is no danger of anyone being stung while observing the bees work4 ,here every movement of the colony and queen can be seen1 and all work from the laying of the egg to the sealed brood may be seen at any time2 how the bees remove pollen from their legs2 how they behave when deprived of their queen1 and how they start and build a queen-cell1 store honey in the combs1 etc4 ,illustration3 ,figure #ai ,if the observation hive contains a small colony of bees and an unfertile queen1 it will be seen that the bees do not take the least notice of her4 ,apparently she is of no more consequence before becoming fertile than other bees in the hive2 yet should she be removed from the colony1 the bees would soon miss her1 and make as much fuss over her loss as they would had she been a fertile queen4 ,the fact that bees pay no attention to a queen1 is the best evidence that she is not fertile4 ,,comparative ,,size ,,of ,,queens ,illustration3 ,figure #bj ,illustration3 ,figure #ba ,figure #bj nicely and accurately represents a large1 fine and well-developed fertile queen bee4 ,i have reared many queens equally as large as the one illustrated in above cut4 ,figure #ba is a good and life-size view of an unfertile queen4 ,such queens vary much in size4 ,no one should judge of the size of a queen until she is given a chance to develop in a full colony of bees4 ,queens kept in small nucleus colonies never reach full development4 ,they must be given larger quarters in order to show to what size they will attain4 ,,preventing ,,honey ,,from ,,candying ,some years ago ,i accidentally discovered a process by which honey that has once candied can be preserved in the liquid state for a long time4 ,it is my opinion that it is much the best plan to let all honey candy and then liquify it4 ,possibly there are some kinds of honey that if treated by the process below given1 would not remain in the liquid state only a short time4 ,but for most kinds the treatment will be a success1 and preserve it many months4 ,several years ago ,i received some honey in sixty-pound cans that was nearly as hard as sugar4 ,it was melted and put in half-pound bottles4 ,to keep it from candying again before ,i could dispose of it1 the bottles were placed on a shelf over the kitchen stove1 where the temperature would rise to #aaj degrees during the day and would not go below #fj degrees at night4 ,this same lot of honey stood zero weather for two winters without going back4 ,the above is the entire process4 ,it is heat for a long time that does the business4 ,honey in large cans would need to be kept in a high temperature at least a month1 but the process will surely prevent it from candying after it is once liquified4 ,arrange the details of heating to suit your conditions4 ,large quantities of honey can be kept in a room well up from the floor1 and a good hot fire running for a long time4 ,steam heat1 if convenient to use1 is the proper thing4 ,small quantities of honey can be treated about as mentioned in my own case4 ,,to ,,the ,,reader ,if the methods herein given for rearing queens is not made clear ,i shall be glad at any time to give personal explanation4 ,later on ,i may issue a 8supplement0 in which many of the parts of my system of queen-rearing will be illustrated and more minutely explained4 ,send in the questions and they shall receive attention4 ,,the ,,queen-,,rearing ,,outfit ,there are certain necessary things used in queen-rearing which ,i can supply at the prices given opposite each article named4 ,the queen nursery1 #ce cages1 #a4ej4 ,the tin pipe for burning tobacco when introducing queens1 #ej cents4 ,small hive1 four frames1 nailed ready for use1 including cone-feeder1 #ej cents4 ,small hive complete1 including pint of bees1 one best ,adel breeding queen1 #e4jj4 ,same with select tested ,adel queen1 #d4jj4 ,all the above1 and one of the latest improved queen-traps1 sent for #i4jj4 ,these goods must go by express1 as they are too large to go by mail4 ,illustration3 ,a successful swarm-catcher4 ,used in the ,bay ,state ,apiary with great success many years4 ,it consists of a brood-box in front of the hive in connection with the queen-trap4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,the ,a4 ,i4 ,root ,co4 ,medina1 ,ohio1 ,makes a ,specialty of ,manufacturing ,beekeepers' ,supplies of ,all ,kinds ,beehives ,frames ,section ,honeyboxes ,shippingcases ,honey and ,wax ,extractors ,beesmokers ,beecomb ,foundation ,comb,foundation ,machines ,comb,foundation ,fasteners ,perforated ,queen,excluders ,in fact1 a full line of everything required by bee-keepers4 ,the superior excellence of these goods is such that they have a world-wide reputation1 and dealers handling them generally say3 ,root's ,goods ,,at ,root's ,prices ,for convenience of bee-keepers in obtaining supplies without sending direct to factory and paying high freight charges1 as well as suffering long delays in transit1 a number of dealers have established distributing-points at many large centers1 where goods are shipped from factory in carload lots4 ,in a notice of this kind it is impossible to give a list of dealers that will be accurate year after year4 ,if you do not find their card in ,,gleanings ,,in ,,bee ,,culture or other journals1 send to us and we will give you name of dealer located nearest you4 ,in addition to twenty-five such distributing-houses in ,united ,states1 there are wholesale dealers in ,kingston1 ,jamaica2 ,havana1 ,cardenas1 and ,cienfuegos1 ,cuba2 at various points in ,gt4 ,britain2 also in ,australia and ,new ,zealand4 ,an illustrated catalog mailed free4 ,the ,american ,bee ,journal ,,the ,,oldest ,,bee ,,paper ,,in ,,america ,in order to become a progressive apiarist1 and at the same time realize the most money from your bees1 you cannot afford to be without a good bee-paper4 ,,the ,,american ,,bee ,,journal1 established in #ahfa1 is a #af-page weekly1 well illustrated1 and fully up-to-date in everything pertaining to bee-culture4 ,its ,departments ,contributed ,articles ,discussions of ,important ,topics and ,bee-,keeping ,experiences--by experts4 ,convention ,proceedings--,just what this implies4 ,questions and ,answers ,in charge of ,dr4 ,c4 ,c4 ,miller1 a bee-keeper of over #dj years' experience1 who answers all questions4 ,invaluable to beginners in bee-keeping4 ,editorial ,comments--,just what this indicates4 ,the ,weekly ,budget ,being mainly personal items and miscellaneous matters of interest to bee-keepers4 ,beedom ,boiled ,down--,cream of bee-literature4 ,the ,afterthought ,this is in charge of ,mr4 ,e4 ,e4 ,hasty1 who reviews what has appeared in recent numbers of the ,,american ,,bee ,,journal1 pointing out any errors and commending the good things4 ,our ,bee,keeping ,sisters ,miss ,emma ,m4 ,wilson 7sister-in-law and assistant in the apiary of ,dr4 ,c4 ,c4 ,miller7 has charge of this department4 ,it is especially intended for women bee-keepers1 though its contents are just as helpful to the men-folks4 ,from ,many ,fields ,short experiences and reports of the honey crop1 conditions of bees1 etc4 ,price of the ,,bee ,,journal1 one year1 #a4jj2 or for #a4ge we will send the ,,bee ,,journal a year and a copy of ,dr4 ,miller's 8,forty ,years ,among the ,bees10 book alone1 #a4 ,send for free ,sample ,copy1 and ,catalogue of ,bee ,supplies4 ,,george ,w4 ,,york ,,co41 #add #adf ,e4 ,erie ,st41 ,chicago1 ,ill4 ,we are the ,largest ,manufacturers of ,bee-,keepers' ,supplies in the ,northwest ,,send ,,for ,,catalog ,illustration3 ,,minnesota ,,bee-,,keepers' ,,supply ,,manufacturing ,,co4 ,charles ,mondeng1 ,prop4 ,minneapolis1 ,minnesota4 ,we have the ,best ,goods1 the ,lowest ,prices1 and the ,best ,shipping ,facilities ,,our ,,dandy or ,,shallow ,,dove ,,hive ,with ,super for ,sections1 #d #e or #c #e1 is the ,best for raising ,,comb ,,honey ,we manufacture the ,best ,,swarm ,,catcher ,up to the present time that is put on the market4 ,our ,improved ,daisy ,foundation ,fastener ,is in the lead of all others4 ,if you want your ,bees to winter well get our ,,winter ,,cases ,they will winter ,bees for a ,century4 ,you must remember that we manufacture ,,the ,,best ,,bee-,,keepers' ,,supplies and we guarantee everything to be just as represented4 ,we also manufacture the finest ,sections2 they are the best on the market4 ,our sections are made by an automatic section machine1 which will make #abj1jjj finished sections in ten hours4 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,transcriber',s ,,notes #a4 ,fig4 #af1 rotated the image #ahj4 #b4 ,silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling4 #c4 ,retained anachronistic1 non-standard1 and uncertain spellings as printed4 #d4 ,enclosed italics font in underscores4 #e4 ,enclosed bold font in plus-minus signs4