RATIONAL BEE-KEEPING. 
— =] 
Prior to the epidemic of Acarine Disease in 1906, the 
most popular strain of bee in this Country was the British 
Black or so-called Native bee. Owing to the low disease 
resistancy of this strain, and to the fact that apiaries of 
these bees act as centres from which the disease radiates, 
it is rapidly being replaced by the more vigorous and 
prolific Italian strains. 
After many years of experiment, with various races 
from different parts of the globe, the Italian strains have 
been selected as shewing the greatest resistance to the 
disease, and though not truly immune, are not liable to 
serious infection when managed under Rational conditions. 
In the cases where bees of these strains become infected, 
the cause of the infection is generally traceable to the use 
of irrational methods of bee-keeping. 
With these strains it is usually possible to eradicate 
disease when this is detected in the earlier stages, this being 
an advantage over the Native strains, which are not 
amenable to treatment, even in the initial stages of the 
complaint. 
As honey getters the Italian strains are superior to 
all others, and have been selected for this characteristic by 
the American Bee-keepers—the largest honey producers in 
the world. ~ 
Queens of these strains are very large, golden in 
color, and exceptionally prolific, building up stocks from 
nuclei in a very short time. 
The strains selected work well in sections, capping 
these white, and owing to their extremely gentle character, 
it is possible to handle strong stocks of these bees under 
all conditions of weather, and therefore to adopt manipula- 
tive measures which ensure absolute freedom from 
swarming. 
