88 THE BEE-KEEPERS" REVIEW 



the same. I hardly think that would stand the test as scrub stock, 

 as some of the most beautiful bees I ever saw were the most worth- 

 less for honey gathering. 



HOW I STABTEI) BKEEDING. 



What led me to breeding bees was this: Twenty-six years ago 

 I bought two colonies of black, or German, bees in old box hives. 

 I found that while one gathered double the honey the other one did, 

 they seemed the same in strength, also were nearly the same in 

 color. 



The colony that made the most honey would swarm but once 

 in a season, sometimes not at all, but the other colony would swarm 

 two or three times. I thought the others should swarm, and could 

 not understand why they did not. You can see that what should 

 have been my breeding queen was not bred from, but the poor 

 strain was doubling and trebling. Here is where you are deceived 

 in believing that 3'our bees were run out by inbreeding when really 

 they were run out by breeding from undesirable stock. 



WHY S^HB SHOV/ SUCH A VA3IATXON. 



You should all know that the queen is never fcriiUrjcd but once, 

 but does sometimes mate more than once. The drone docs not in,atc 

 with more than one queen, and as there is a great variation in all 

 males as well as females even in bee life, I am led to believe there is 

 the same variation in drones as there is in the queens. 1 can prove 

 it with queens, but it is theory with drones, is it not? 



Now as our queens mate we use the drone onh' once while 

 with all animals like swine, sheep, etc., we can use the same male 

 time and again. 



YOU CAIff'T IKBREE3 BEES. 



Please tell me how you can inbreed bees? I w^ould like to know 

 if there is a way to do it. Each drone and queen make one family, 

 and even if you use the same strain of bees the more colonies you 

 have, the more families you have, and the better chance to improve 

 your bees, as we select the best, not only for queen mothers but 

 drone fathers as well. 



PAUTHBIIOGES^ESIS. 



Is it any wonder that there is such a wide diversity of opinions 

 in regard to it? Now any one can easily prove the truth of 

 parthenogenesis in bees. 



Take any pure race of bees. Italians zvill )iot do as iltey are 

 hybrids to start zvith. Now take say a black queen or Carniolan, 

 (black preferred), as they are the purest race I have found to ex- 

 periment with. Mate these black queens to yellozv Italian drones 

 or any other yellow race. Put on a drone guard to keep the drones 



