No. 4.] ESSENTIALS OF BEEKEEPING. 159 



Summing up the suggestions for a beginning : — 

 Purchase disease-free and strong colonies, preferably good Italians, 

 and in the modern type of frame hive which has been decided upon. 

 A favorable time of the year to commence is in the spring. If it can 

 be arranged, allow an experienced beekeeper to attend to transporta- 

 tion, a problem which sometimes perplexes the veteran. 



Italianize. 



The various races, types, strains or varieties of bees, such as 

 Carniolan, Banat, Caucasian, Cyprian, the African races, and some 

 of the Italian strains have been much and often over-exploited. 

 An eminent German authority has aptly said that the Americans 

 are so anxious to try new races, they import so many straiiis, that 

 they have no truly efficient, strictly American honey bee, which may 

 be said to be characteristic of or adapted to any one locality of the 

 United States. 



In Massachusetts this is perhaps especially true, because of the 

 many who keep bees from general, natural history or avocational 

 interest. The serious beekeeper, however, in the Commonwealth, as 

 elsewhere, prefers the Italian or "hybrid" (German (bhick) and 

 Italian cross). Even among the Italian stock, which is widely ad- 

 mitted the best race, all purposes considered, there are varieties 

 which are less desirable than others. " Hybrids " should be aban- 

 doned for jjure Italians. 



As a whole, Italians which are less susceptible to European foul 

 brood ai'e good honey producers, prolific, gentle, easily handled, not 

 excessive swaimers, hardy and the bee for the professional. Massa- 

 chusetts beekeepers are urged to Italianize, if for no other reason 

 than the tendency of Italian strains to resist European foul brood. 

 Generally, the so-called " leather-colored " Italian is preferred to 

 what has been termed " golden " or the " light-yellow colored " types. 

 If you find a good strain keep it and rear new stock from it. 



With the slight labor of a few minutes spent in introducing a 

 queen, colonies which are vicious, hybrid or unproductive, may be 

 completely restocked and transformed in the course of a few weeks, 

 since the life of a working bee is approximately forty days. Thus 

 an undesirable race may be changed for prolific, gentle Italians. 



Requeening. 

 The success of a honey crop depends upon young and vigorous 

 bees, and their presence is now considered a most imjiortant factor in 

 the elimination of swanning. The commercial apiarist would requeen 

 at least once in two years; many requeen annually. By requeening 

 in August, the wintering ability of the colony is increased, the 

 tendency to swarm the following spring is reduced, and productive- 

 ness and efficiency in the summer are secured. 



