The Queen Nursery.
As the readers of the American Bee Journal are somewhat anxious to hear about the Queen Nursery, invented by Dr. Jewell Davis, of Charleston, Illinois, I will say that it is a perfect success. I have, since the first of June, kept mine running to its full capacity (twelve cages). I have allowed the queens to remain in the cages six or eight days after hatching. I now have his fertilizing attachment, but have not yet tested it. Young, unimpregnated queens can be introduced by Alley’s process, to any queenless colony. I will give a fuller report, and how to use it, this fall or winter. I consider it quite an advantage to save all natural queen cells, and hatch them out in the Nursery; and it is no disadvantage certainly to have a supply of young queens on hand, at so small an expense, to give to a natural or artificial swarm, at swarming time, even if they are not fertilized. When you can draw on your nursery for a queen, at any time at sight, it is quite an advantage; at least I consider it so. It is a positive fact that queens perish in their cells by the thousand, in the natural state, in extremely hot weather. In using the Nursery we can control this matter; for if the weather is extra hot, we place the Nursery in a small colony; and in a large strong one, if the weather is cool. Thus you will see that we have the hatching entirely under our own control, and it is not left to chance. The queen breeder can readily see the advantage of separating all his queen cells as soon as sealed over, and having them perfectly safe. I have kept my Nursery in a medium swarm, where they had a perfect queen breeding at the same time. As I said before, queens can be kept in the Nursery any length of time, with perfect safety. I place a small piece of comb containing honey in the cage, between the tins, then place the cell in the cage in a natural position and fasten it with a pin. A very slight fastening answers, as the bees cannot get at it to gnaw it down.
E. Gallup.
Orchard, Iowa, July 15, 1870.
[For the American Bee Journal.]