NOTES. l6l 



lect a good deal more honey. (3) They work earlier and later. 



(4) They are far better to protect their hives against robber bees. 



(5) They are almost proof against the ravages of the larva? of the 

 bee moth. (6) The queens are decidedly more prolific. (7) Brood- 

 rearing commences earlier in the season. (8) The queen is more 

 readily found, which is a great advantage. (9) The bees are more 

 disposed to adhere to the comb while the combs are being handled. 

 (10) _ They are far less apt to rob other hives, (n) And in my es- 

 timation a sufficient ground for preference, did it stand alone, the 

 bees are far more amiable. * * * I have kept these two races 

 side by side for years, I have studied them most carefully, and I 

 know that none of the above eleven points of excellence are too 

 strongly stated. The black bees are superior in one, and in perhaps 

 two respects. They certainly will go into boxes more readily to make 

 box-honey ; and I have some reason to think they are more hardy, 

 yet many claim that the Italians are superior in point of hardiness." 

 — Prof. A. J. Cook in his "Manual of the Apiary." 



7. Beginning. — (Page 42.) Any person desiring to begin bee- 

 keeping ought, in the first place, to get a book on bee-culture that is 

 thoroughly up with the times. Having carefully studied his book, he 

 should, if possible, visit an apiary in the hands of a skillful bee-keeper, 

 and witness the methods of management. This is not always possi- 

 ble, and though desirable, is by no means necessary. Then in April 

 or the first part of May, let him buy a swarm of black bees in a com- 

 mon box hive ; procure a movable frame hive, of the pattern he may 

 have decided upon, and, as soon as fruit trees are in bloom, transfer 

 the bees to this. He can usually buy black bees in box-hives much 

 cheaper than he can get Italians in a movable frame hive, but if the 

 latter are quite low in his neighborhood he may as well buy a hive of 

 them in good condition, for beginning. Let him carefully study his 

 book ; subscribe for, and study, one or more of the magazines devoted 

 to bee-culture ; observe his bees ; learn thoroughly the whole economy 

 of the bee-hive, the office of the queen, the drones, and the workers. 

 He should acquaint himself with all the modern appliances in bee- 

 culture, and all the modern methods of management. He should 

 know how and when to extract, how and when to get comb-honey, 

 how and when to make new swarms, how to winter without loss. He 

 can apply his knowledge step by step in the management of his one 

 hive. In the course of a year, if he studies carefully, he can make 

 himself quite familiar with the whole subject, and can then guide all 

 his future work intelligently from the stand-point of practical knowl- 

 edge. 



