62 A Modern Bee-Farm 



For extracted honey a good Italian strain will be found 

 to give the best results. Pure black bees are not at all 

 desirable for either purpose, as they cease storing quite a 

 month sooner than the foreign varieties or hybrids ; more- 

 over, they are frequently troubled with the wax moth, 

 while the latter never are. Let it be observed that black 

 {'native) drones are to be rigorously excluded, as these 

 give bad-tempered workers when crossed with a queen of 

 either of the foreign varieties. 



In concluding this chapter, I must insist that un- 

 restricted or indiscriminate swarming, as hitherto generally 

 practised, is totally at variance with all true principles of 

 breeding. To obtain the best results, it is absolutely 

 necessary that all queens be carefully bred from the best 

 stock only. Our motto should be " Excelsior ! " 



