88 SUCCESSFUL BEE-KEEPING. 
eges deposited therein- by worker bees ; and if the latter are 
not purely Italian, we shail breed a race of drones of inferior 
quality, by which our queens may be impregnated, when, 
theoretically, we could not by any possibility have a black 
drone in the apiary. 
Hence, it becomes evident, that if we hope to breed the 
Italian race in purity, we must establish a colony isolated 
from the black race, where they are to remain long enough 
to allow the progeny of the old queen to be displaced by 
the new. When the black bees have entirely disappeared, 
the queen may be removed, and the bees left to rear oth- 
ers. When capped over, the cells may be transferred to 
other hives, and the queen returned ; repeating the ope- 
ration when more are wanted. In establishing the Italian 
colony, it is believed to be of some importance that the 
Italian workers be allowed to renew the contents of the 
hive by filling it up with combs of their own construction ; 
the cells built by them being somewhat larger than those 
built by the black race, and not having been used by the 
latter, may secure our queens from any possible taint. 
In rearing Italian queens in great numbers, or indeed 
any other, it is advisable to establish small nuclei, or col- 
onies of not more than one quart of bees to each. From 
such all impure drones may be easily destroyed ; and the 
queens will mature and become fertile even sooner than 
from large swarms. But it should be borne in mind, that 
small colonies are more liable to the attacks of robber 
bees, and are more apt to accompany the queen in her 
flight to meet the drones. To prevent the latter, the 
presence of brood in the hive, in the earlier stages of de- 
de opment, should not be wanting. Such nuclei are perfect 
swarms in miniature: the prudent apiarian will keep a 
surplus on hand in summer to supply queens as wanted. 
