11 
In the course of his able article the author says: 
»lf, in order to secure a non — swarming race of bees, we were to 
commit the same fault — rearing the Italians for yellow color on account 
of which the »golden Italians« were degenerated by sacrificing their vitality 
and prolificness — we would stil! more rapidly detoriate the race. Selecting 
as breeders of our young queens the colonies which did not swarm, without 
taking into consideration their activity, their prolificness, and their honey — 
producing qualities — which are, above. all, most important — we would 
naturally secure our breeders from undesirable colonies. Certainly they 
would swarm less than the others, and this would be due to the self — 
evident fact that they were less active, less prolific. This would cause a 
prompt and easily explained decrease in the usefulness of the breed. 
»The selection which, to my mind, will be the slowest to produce 
positive results, will be that of the most prolific and most productive colonies, 
manipulated in such a manner as not to induce swarming. When we succeed 
‘in avoiding natural swarming in some of our best colonies, by minute and 
constant attention, supplying them with ample room, plentiful shade, abun- 
dant ventilation etc., we may be able to improve the race by taking our 
breeders, queens and drones from these same colonies, but reared elsewhere. 
At the same time we must avoid permitting the lesser colonies to furnish 
any increase. Every time that we will manage one of the best colonies so 
as to prevent its swarming, and will,allow one of the poorer ones to cast 
a swarm, we will make a step towards detorioration. The method to be 
followed in swarm — prevention is to make an artificial rearing of queens 
from our most desirable colonies, and use these queens to supply the 
swarms or artificial divisions from our mediocre colonies. 
»However, some one perhaps will say that the production of a non — 
swarming race of bees is an utopia beyond our reach. Perhaps not altogether, 
but as the swarming tendency is the only method by which the honey — 
bees have perpetuated their kind, and repaired losses caused by winter, 
disease, and enemies, it is not likely that for many centuries we will be 
able to produce a non — swarming race of highly active bees. We can at 
best weaken slightly this tendency by methods of management, which would 
fail-in their results as soon as they were slightly neglected. 
»But how about the arteficial rearing of queens ?« 
The auther is of the opinion that artificially reared queens, in: order 
to have all the attributes of queens, all their prolificness, must be reared 
in positively royal circumstances. He mentions the Doolittle method of 
rearing queens in full colonies, and sees no reason why such queens 
would not be as healthy and as prolific as the best of naturally — breed 
queens. 
»The advantages of the artificial queen — rearing methods lie prin- 
cipally in the fact that you can rear an unlimited number of good queens 
fromm your best coloniese — says the author. - 
