1st. Do not look for yellow queens, for they are not as good as dark
ones.
2d. Take care to avoid too close in-and-in breeding.
Let us also remark, that many bee-keepers find that the half-blood
Italian bees, are better than the pure ones. Why? Simply because the
in-and-in breeding the race of their queens was subject to for some
generations, was broken by the alliance with black drones. But the
alliance of the Italian queens with Italian drones remotely bred, would
doubtless give as good progeny, while preserving the purity of the
stock.
Let us remark also, that Nature in ordering for the queens the wedding
flight, obviously had in view the avoidance of in-and-in breeding.
3d. Choose the colony having the purest queen, and the most fertile,
from which to provide the queens cells, and distribute in small nuclei
when sealed. No matter if the queen is dark. In good seasons the queens
raised in small nuclei are as good as those raised in full stocks.