46 A Modem Bee-Farm 



CHAPTER IV. 



VARIETIES OF BEES. 



THEIR CHARACTER AND DISPOSITION. 



IT will be my endeavour to give an impartial account of 

 the different varieties as I have found them ; and 

 while drawing attention to the great value of the 

 foreign races for crossing with the bees we already have, 

 I must advise the reader not to invest heavily in either of 

 such varieties, but first obtain two or three queens and 

 then compare them with those he already has for several 

 years before making any radical change. 



THE BLACK, OR NATIVE BEES, 



are still cultivated in many apiaries, principally because 

 they are well adapted to the production of comb-honey. 

 Their newly-stored combs are beautifully white, and there- 

 fore comb-honey produced by them commands a good 

 sale. They are not so prolific as other races, and hence 

 do not give as much surplus, and consequently are of 

 little use in an apiary where increase is desired ; indeed, 

 I can assert as a fact, the bee-keeper who expects to build 

 up a large and prosperous apiary from black bees alone. 



