SOUTHERN BEE CULTURE 13 



being handled; and it is a pleasure to handle them, as they do not sting, 

 run, fly, and boil out of their hives as some other races do. They are great 

 comb-builders, and cap their honey snow-white, making it a fancy article in 

 appearance. They are also great cell-builders. A strong colony will build 

 from 20 to 40 large cells containing queens well developed. This is one 

 thing to their credit, showing that they are a very prolific race, are easily 

 kept up, and better for slipshod bee-keeping than some other races of bees. 

 They not only behave themselves well in and around the hives, but around 

 the apiary, even while they are being molested. 



The Caucasian bees will come as near gathering honey every day in 

 the year as any bees, and at the same time they will keep it spread out in 

 the comb uncapped longer than any ot!her bees I have ever had any experi- 

 ence with; and even the poor grades of honey are thus made wholesome. 

 But being very prolific they are great swarmers, and hard to control in 

 this respect. Their only failing is that they will carry into their hives a lot 

 of propolis or bee-glue in the fall of the year if there is no honey-flow on. 



Hybrid Bees. 



These are crosses between races of bees which sometimes make a great 

 improvement in the honey-bee, combining the good qualities of two races in 

 one; but generally these crosses are too cross, and it is considered best 

 to keep stock as nearly pure as possible. The crosses between blacks and 

 Italians show great improvement in the prolificness of the blacks; but at 

 the same time they are very spiteful and unpleasant to handle. Crosses 

 between blacks and Caucasians rpmain gentle and pleasant to handle, and 

 show a great improvement in the blacks. While the Caucasians possess all 

 the good qualities of the blacks, and are, besides, very prolific, it would 

 not pay to mix the two races ; but if it were done it would also be a desir- 

 able strain of bees. A cross between Italians and Caucasiaus makes good 

 workers but very furious stingers— so much so that they are not desirable 

 bees. 



If any reader is not satisfied with his race of bees, and is not getting 

 returns from them he should, the above may help him to select a better race. 



There are other races and strains of bees, but not common in the South. 



BEE CULTURE. 



We will begm bee culture from a bare swarm of bees which has just 

 issued, and settled on some object about the apiary. Now, the aim of this 

 swarm is good, for they propose to go into some crevice or hollow place, and 

 there establish for themselves a permanent abiding-place and be rich in honey 

 and also send out. other swarms to other places, and thereby continue the 



