Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1899 edition. Excerpt: ...I do not know how to account for; but I do know, that so far every virgin queen that has succeeded in getting from the upper story into the lower one has superseded the queen reigning there, whether that queen was young or old. Why they should think more of a virgin queen than of a laying one, under these circumstances, is the mystery; for in all other cases it is almost impossible to get a colony, having a laying queen, to accept of a virgin, as thousands of bee-keepers are ready to testify. If it is desired to have more than two queens fertilized from one upper story, it can be done by making more queen apartments with the perforated-zinc, and inserting the cells so that they will hatch at different times, when, by keeping the buttons over the holes where the queens are too young to be fertilized, several can be allowed to go out on the back part of the hive, as they are ready to mate. If many upper stories are used in the apiary probably the plan as I have given it will yield all of the queens required, except for those doing a large business at queen-rearing. These holes in the upper hive do not materially injure the same, for, if at any time they are wanted to be closed permanently, all we have to do is to cut some plugs of the right size, with a plug-cutter (such as is used by wagon-makers, in cutting plugs to put over the heads of screws), and put them in the holes, when one or two coats of paint will make the hive as good as ever. By using the above plan, nuclei never need be formed, except by those who want to rear early queens for market, or by those who rear queens by the thousand for sale; in which case more or less nuclei would doubtless have to be. made; for we could not get our colonies strong enough for the upper stories, ..
