No apiarist--no matter how few bees he may keep-- should consider that he has done his duty by his "pets" until he has learned how to rear queens. Not only is this a duty which he owes to himself, but in the doing of it he will find the most fascinating part of apiculture. I know of nothing so enticing, or of anything that will so completely absorb the mind, and get one out of that complaining mood which we sometimes fall into, as will the rearing of queens. When at this work, minutes and hours fly away as tho they were not, and even a whole day spent in the closest of this work is only considered a day of recreation. Here we can get away from self and the cares of life, and be led out along a higher plane of thought--thought which grasps, to some degree at least, the mind of our Creator, when He made so many things for the comfort and enjoyment of us, His children. In no one thing can the handiwork of God be seen more than in this particular branch of our beloved pursuit. Again, the rearing of queens is a duty that we owe to our families, if they are in any way dependent upon us for their support. Many times I see it advised, that the beekeeper should buy his queens, as tho that was the best and cheapest way to Italianize an apiary. While I have queens to sell, yet I object to such advice, or any advice which compels the man starting in apiculture, or already in the same, to take his hard-earned pennies--often earned in some other calling in life--away from his family, and send them for the support of some other man's family who may have many luxuries that his own does not have. If any one has plenty of money that is hanging idly on his hands, then I have no objection to his sending it when and where he p!eases; but I do claim that the average beekeeper has not the right to scrimp his family by buying queens, or anything else, that he can rear or make just as well as not during his leisure moments; and by so doing, keep his money to cheer the hearts of his loved ones, and at the same time be growing intellectually in his chosen pursuit. Of course, it will be necessary for any one desiring a change of stock to get a queen of the desired race, but to purchase queens for the whole apiary, or by the score, as is frequently advised, is quite anothcr thing. The object of this book is to tell all how they can rear one or more queens with ease, and in such a way that their bees can be improving all the while, instead of retrogading, as was often the case where the old plans were used. But says one: "How can I rear one or two queens by your plan, without going through with all of the work that the plan, as a whole, requires?" If you do not want to rear enough queens to pay for using a stick of twelve cells, proceed to make two or three wax-cups, as I told you how to do in Chapter VII; or, if this is too much work, use embryo queen-cells, as given in Chapter VI. A few days previous to doing this, tier up a hive for extracted honey, as all want at least one hive workt in that way; if not wanted for that, it will be needed for the purpose of securing extra combs of sealed honey, to be used in feeding the bees when they need feeding, putting a queen-excluding honey-board between the hives, and having one frame of unsealed brood in the upper hive with other combs. In four or five days, look at this comb having the brood in it, and you will find one or more queen-cells started, from which you can get royal jelly with which to supply the wax-cups that you have made. Just before putting in the royal jelly, go to the hive having your best queen--best as regards color, work and every other quality--and get a piece of comb containing a few larvae. If the day is not quite warm, take all to the kitchen, where it is always warm just before the noon-day meal; and after putting the royal jelly in the wax-cups, transfer some larvae into each. Roll the cups in a warm cloth, if the day is cool, and upon going back to where you got the jelly, press down some of the cells a little where the comb is empty, by laying the side and end of the little finger against the comb, thereby forming a place into which the wax-cup will fit nicely, thus holding it in place on the comb with the open end down.