. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. i6i rites are in their most irritable mood, those on the side of the frame usually shift, conseqently the queen, on obtaining her liberty, may in the melee meet with a worker who had never seen her before, looks upon her as an interloper, pinions her, and at once gives the signal to encase the prize, and many a valuable queen have I found fall a victim in such circum- stances, causing me to employ the same cage after a different fashion. ^. On placing the queen in the cage, I confine her by setting over it a little
. British bee journal & bee-keepers adviser. Bees. THE BRITISH BEE JOURNAL. i6i rites are in their most irritable mood, those on the side of the frame usually shift, conseqently the queen, on obtaining her liberty, may in the melee meet with a worker who had never seen her before, looks upon her as an interloper, pinions her, and at once gives the signal to encase the prize, and many a valuable queen have I found fall a victim in such circum- stances, causing me to employ the same cage after a different fashion. ^. On placing the queen in the cage, I confine her by setting over it a little square of perforated zinc, (see accompanying sketch) through which the cage eyes are passed, and it is kept shut by a bit of stock- ing wire run through an eye on either side, any little stopper does equally well, strong prickles from the nearest goosebery bush in a garden come readily to hand. The body of the cage is then set in the bung hole commonly found in straw hives, in wooden hives with- out one it is easily cut, a florin from the pocket and a pencil describes the circle on the middle of the central slide, and a pen knife cuts it out quicker than one can set off to the house for a brace and bit. Such apertures come in useful again for bottle feeding, the zinc cover prevents the cage slipping into the hive, and by covering it over with three or four plies woollen cloth keeps the queen warm and comfortable. On the third day I usually proceed to set her free. After removing the coverings, the wire is drawn, and the zinc top raised. Her majesty is too much occupied holding a communication with the workers at the bottom, to think of escaping, the cage is raised gently and inverted, the woollen cloth thrown over to keep in any odd bees, by this mode, on the liberation of the queen, she comes in contact with the bees that have been employed in feeding her, and are familiar with her presence, who form a body guard around her, and the royal progress over the combs is an uninter
Size: 1548px × 1615px
Photo credit: © Library Book Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherlondon, booksubjectbees
