The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-08-05
How-to Get chores queen Gems.

A few days before you wish coli
ony to start queen cells place a new
worker comb (which should be clean
and white) between two combs of
brood containing the queen from
which you wish TO rear queens. (For
convenience we will call this hive
No. ~ Keep watch over this comb,
and when eggs are found mark the
date on the top bar of the comb:
three days later these eggs will be
Matching, and that is the right time
to remove them to a queenless col
ony. eve will call this No. 2
In choosing a colony to build the
cells always select strong one of
pure Italians, if you have them (hy-
birds are apt to sting you while re-
moving the eells). Find the queen
in No. and remove her with two
combs of brood and bees into new
hive No. 81 on a new stand, and
build them up as best you can. Re-
move all the queens that contain
brood from No. 2, first shaking off
the bees. | think it mistake to use
old bees for rearing queen; we also
want them strong TO commence work
on the queen cells at once.
Get empty combs enough to fill
the space made by removing the
brood less one or two). From hive
No. l take the comb of Matching
eggs and cut strips from it about
one-half inch wide and as long as
convenient to handle. Take an
empty comb and place one of these
strips upon it a little below the top
bar and parallel with it, in such
way that the cells on one side of the
strip will point downward; gently
push the strip against the comb and
stick one or two pins through the
strip into the comb to hold il in
place.
Use only one strip, or row of strips
on a single comb, and this on only
one side of each of five or six combs.
Hang the combs in the hive with
the strips next to you, and put the
combs close enough together TO hold
the strips firmly in place. Close up
the hive, giving the bees chance to
fasten these strips, and deposit food
for the use of the young Larvae,
which they will lose no time in do
ing. having plenty of bees for the
| work on the start. Leave them just
four days lido not wait until the fifth
day, or some cells will be sealed),
then open the hive and loosen each
strip from one comb with the point
of sharp knife, being careful to
cut away from the strip.
If all the above directions have
i been closely followed, you will be
surprised to see long rows of nice
looking cells nearly ready to seal.
Choose the best ones to leave, and
| 'steap out the Larvae from the others,
leaving the food, which will be re-
moved by the bees into the cells of
your choice.
These cells will hatch Tor the queen
willy on the thirteenth day from the
time the strips were placed in the
queenless colony. In this way |
have never failed to get plenty of
well developed queen cells.
Those who are not satisfied with
their past experiences in queen rear
ing should try this plan, and they
will be surprised at the number of
choice queen cells that a good col
ony will produce. Ihave had single
colonies build forty and fifty cells ON
these strips of comb, but twenty are
the most | have ever permitted to
mature, and this was in colony that
had started cells preparatory to a
swarming. A queen will hatch from
each of the twenty cells. l have
eighteen of them now in my yard,
and a neighbor has the other two,
and every one of them is doing ats
duty" in a strong colony of bees.
The above method may seem slow
and tedious before trial, but l do not
find it so after getting used to it, and
L am sure l am paid for my care by
getting superior quality ofqueens,
as good as any natural ones can be.
/ shall hereafter rear all my queens
in this way.-American Bee Journal.