THK ITALIAN BEE. 
327 
To secure tlie requisite number of drones, part of the 
Italian drone-brood should be given to some of the nuclei, 
so that, in case the parent-stock kills its drones, others 
may be on hand. If the Apiarian removes the queen 
from this colony before the drones are killed, the bees 
will tolerate their presence much longer. The same 
object may also be accomplished by liberal feeding ab 
soon as natural forage fails (p. 224). 
Dzierzon found that a queen which had been refri¬ 
gerated for a long time, after being brought to life by 
warmth, laid only male eggs, whilst previously she had 
also laid female eggs. Berlepsch refrigerated three 
queens by placing them thirty-six hours in an ice-house,* 
two of which never revived, and the third laid, as before, 
thousands of eggs, but from all of them only males were 
evolved. In two instances, Mr. Mahan has, at my sug¬ 
gestion, tried similar experiments, and with like results. 
It does not seem to have occurred to the German 
Apiarians that by this refrigerating process we may 
secure as many Italian drones as we need. All that is 
necessary is to convert by it one or more of the queens 
of the nuclei into drone-layers. The reception of an 
Italian queen quite late in the season may thus be turned 
to good account. 
If the Apiarian is in the vicinity of hives to which he 
cannot apply the non-swarmer, it will be necessary for 
him to seek some place where the common drones cannot 
interfere with his proceedings. Unless the breed is kept 
pure, the advantages proposed by its introduction cannot 
be secured. 
Italian queens may be safely sent in my hives to any 
part of the country. A hive for this purpose should be 
* A short exposure of a queen to pounded Ice and salt, will answer evory pur¬ 
pose The SLermatozolds are in some way rendered Inoperative bv severe cold. 
