48 SOURCES OF HONEY. 
stock may be secured. Full swarms may be purchased, 
or a single queen may be introduced to a colony of native 
bees. In twenty-one days after her introduction, if fer- 
tile, her progeny will begin to appear, and if the change 
is made in spring, the native bees will usually all disap- 
pear during the summer. ‘The details of the process ap- 
pear in the chapter on Queens. 
A queen may be purchased for $2.00, that, in 1860, 
would have cost $20.00 (the price Mr. Quinby paid for 
his first queen), and if the investment paid then, as 
surely was the case, it certainly must do so now. 
To those who assert that they can not perceive any su- 
perior qualities in the natives, and that they do not want 
even one swarm, I say, test both kinds side by side, and 
compare them carefully. 
But do not buy Italians as some do, with the expecta- 
tion that they will of themselves insure success, without 
intelligent care. They are but valuable assistants. Any- 
thing which stimulates active investigation in bee-keep- 
ers, brings experience, upon which all permanent suc- 
cess must be based. 
Other Varieties.—There are some other foreign varie- 
ties of bees, the Egyptian, Cyprian, etc., concerning 
which more or less has been said, but none of which 
have as yet been brought into especial notice, or require 
particular mention. 
CHAPTER IIT. 
SOURCES OF HONEY. 
In speaking of the sources from which most of our 
honey is obtained, I am naturally limited, in a great de- 
gree, to the consideration of the honey-producing plants 
of our northern latitude. Even within a limited area, 
