To clip the queen's wing, take hold of her wings with the left thumb and index finger--never grasp her body, _especially her abdomen_, as this will be very apt to injure her--raise her off the comb, then turn from the bees, place her gently on a board or any convenient object--even the knee will do--she will thus stand on her feet, and not trouble by constantly passing her legs up by her wings, where they, too, would be in danger of being cut off. Now, take a small pair of scissors, and with the right hand open them, carefully pass one blade under one of the front wings, shut the blades, and all is over. Some apiarists complain that queens thus handled often receive a foreign scent, and are destroyed by the bees. I have clipped hundreds, and never lost one. I believe that the above method will not be open to this objection. Should the experience of any one prove to the contrary, the drawing on of a kid glove, or even the fingers of one, might remove the difficulty. FERTILE WORKERS. We have already referred to (pp. 77 and 90) and described fertile workers. As these can only produce unimpregnated eggs, they are, of course, valueless, and unless superseded by a queen, will soon cause the destruction of the colony. As their presence often prevents the acceptance of cells or a queen, by the common workers, they are a serious pest. The absence of worker brood, and the abundant and careless deposition of eggs--some cells being skipped, while others have received several eggs--are pretty sure indications of their presence. To rid a colony of these, unite it with some colony with a good queen, after which the colony may be divided if very strong. Simply exchanging places of a colony with a fertile worker, and a good strong colony, will often cause the destruction of the wrong-doer. In this case, brood should be given to the colony which had the fertile worker, that they may rear a queen; or better, a queen-cell or queen should be given them. Caging a queen in a hive, with a fertile worker, for thirty-six hours, will often cause the bees to accept her. Shaking the bees off the frames two rods from the hive, will often rid them of the counterfeit queen, after which they will receive a queen-cell or a queen. CHAPTER X. INCREASE OF COLONIES. No subject will be of more interest to the beginner, than that of increasing stocks. He has one or two, he desires as many score, or, if very aspiring, as many hundred, and if a Hetherington or a Harbison, as many thousand. This is a subject, too, that may well engage the thought and study of men of no inconsiderable experience. I believe that many veterans are not practicing the best methods in obtaining an increase of stocks.