. The Bee-keepers' review. Bee culture. THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 195. Everj- bee-keeper who has had experience with several strains of hees knows that some are far superior to others—that there is scrub stock among bees, just as there are scrub horses, cat- tle, sheep and poultry'. Let nie give my own experience: Years ago, while living at Rogersville, I made a specialty of rearing queens for sale. Before engaging in this work, I bought queens, and Italianized, not only my own bees, but all within three miles of my apiary. In buying queens I think I patronized nearly every breeder in th
. The Bee-keepers' review. Bee culture. THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 195. Everj- bee-keeper who has had experience with several strains of hees knows that some are far superior to others—that there is scrub stock among bees, just as there are scrub horses, cat- tle, sheep and poultry'. Let nie give my own experience: Years ago, while living at Rogersville, I made a specialty of rearing queens for sale. Before engaging in this work, I bought queens, and Italianized, not only my own bees, but all within three miles of my apiary. In buying queens I think I patronized nearly every breeder in the United States; and, even in those years of inexperience, I was not long in noting the great difference in the different strains of bees. The queens from one particular breeder produced bees that de- lighted me greatly. They were just plain, dark, three-banded Italian?, but, as workers, I have never seen them equaled. They seemed pcsses- sed of a steady, quiet determination that enabled them to lay up surplus ahead of the others. Easier bees to handle I have never seen. Their honey was capped with a snowy whiteness rivaling that of the blacks. In addition, they were hardy. If any bees came through the win- ter, it was colonies of this strain. They came as near being ideal bees as anj' I have ever posses- sed. All this was more than twenty years ago; but, .several times since, I have bought queens of this breeder, and I always found this strain of tiees of same good qualities— industry, gentleness, hardiness and a to cap their honey white. I frequently corres- ponded with this breeder, and with who had bought queens of him, and, finally, I became thoroughly convinced that he had a strain of bees far superior to the general run of stock. Whether this superiority results from length of tongue, about which there has been so much talk the past year, I do not know, but I do know that no bees have been found with greater tongue-length. This
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectbeecult, bookyear1888
