Seitentitel

means reliable. It rested largely -- as it still frequently does to this day -- on "assumptions and speculations". Yet an exact and comprehensive knowledge of the variations between the races is the essential basis for successful efforts to cross-breed.

The Investigation of the Races of Bees

The whole undertaking "In Search for the Best Strains of Bees" was decided on in 1948 and its provisional scope was settled. The extensive costs were mostly borne by Buckfast Abbey and the travel program envisaged was agreed on with the with the English Ministry of Agriculture. In his research journeys, Brother Adam had two aims:

As already mentioned, he wanted to examine breeding possibilities, where it seemed useful and sensible, and to collect queens which would then be assessed in the Buckfast apiary in the following years. He also wanted to obtain exact information about the living conditions and the breeding value of the of the various races.
Brother Adam also collected test bees from the various races, as well as their ecotypes, which were kept in preserving fluid until they could be used by the experimental laboratory in Rothamsted for biometrics examinations. It was already possible then to foresee the coming extinction of many races of bees, and this has progressed so far in the meantime that Brother Adam's bee collection is of incalculable value to present-day genetic researchers. In later years Brother Adam presented his entire collection to Prof. Ruttner. Nowadays this unique bee collection is housed in a special fireproof security cabinet in the Bee Institute in Oberursel.

Mention should also be made of the description of bee-keepers, their ways of handling the bees, as well as the traditional methods of bee-keeping in the various countries, which surely also constitutes a unique document.

"I noticed from time to time that the purpose of the undertaking "The Search for the Best Strains of Bees" was misunderstood. People assumed that my search was for one specific "best bee", i.e. a race that excelled over all others in its commercial characteristic, particularly honey production. But a search with this purpose would have been a hopeless enterprise. Nature does not breed with a view to perfect commercially desirable characteristics. Her efforts tend towards the continuation and propagation of the species"

Brother Adam's research journeys led him chiefly to the countries surrounding the Mediterranean.