THE APIARY. 435' 



the opinions held by some of my brother bee-keepers.. And thirdly, I hesitated 

 somewhat to express my full convictions on the relative merits of Italian and 

 black bees on grounds of self-interest. I have seen with others that there were 

 dollars and cents connected with raising and selling at fancy prices the beautiful' 

 golden-banded queens, as also with the sale of full stocks of the highly recom- 

 mended. 



But I have become fully convinced that the great superiority claimed for 

 Italian over black bees is purely visionary and fanciful. My motto is, let the 

 truth come even if it does sear and burn some of the pet theories and lessen the 

 opportunities for swindling the uninitiated and inexjjerienced ones. 



In the agricultural report for 1875 one of our agricultural editors is strongly 

 reprimanded for making the statement that Italians are no better than black 

 bees, and he (the editor) is represented as standing alone on this question. If 

 such was the fact at that time I wish it to be understood in the future that 

 there is at least one more on that side, and I am quite confident from what I 

 know of the feeling that exists among bee-keepers that the time is not far 

 distant when pure black bees will be in better demand than the beautiful yellow- 

 bees are at present. 



In the above named agricultural report eleven points of superiority are claimed 

 for Italians, as follows : 1, They have longer tongues or ligulas ; 2, They are 

 more active ; 3, They work earlier and later ; 4, They are better to protect 

 their hives against robbers ; 5, They are almost moth-proof ; 6, The queens 

 are more prolific ; 7, Brood-raising commences earlier ; 8, The queens are moro- 

 easily found ; 9, The bees adhere to the combs better ; 10, They are far less 

 apt to rob other hives ; 11. They are more amiable. 



These I think are a fair sample of points of superiority claimed by Italian 

 queen-raisers in general. As the first three points relate to honey-gathering 

 ability, I will group them together and ask the following question, viz. : What 

 advantage is there to be gained by having bees with longer tongues, greater 

 activity, and earlier and later work, if, in fact, they do not gather more honey 

 in the same length of time? My answer to this question you will get from my 

 experience, which I shall relate further on. 



On the 4th, 5th, and lOth points I will say that my experience proves to me 

 that no prudent bee-keeper will ever have trouble with robbers or moths. And 

 again, on the 6th point, what does it amount to, even if the queen is more pro- 

 lific, if in practice the brood chamber does not actually contain more brood? 

 On the 7th point I w^ould say that my experience furnishes no evidence that 

 brood-raising commences earlier with Italians than with blacks that have had 

 the same care. The 8tli and 9th points may be considered as one, since the 

 queen is more easily found because the bees adhere to the combs better, and I 

 think that this, together with the claim that the Italians are more amiable, is 

 true ; and it leaves the matter in this way : Italians are superior to black bees 

 only in two points — the queens are more easily found and the bees are more 

 amiable, and therefore more easily handled. 



I wish now to state in what respects I consider black bees superior to Italians. 

 I will generalize them under four heads, as follows : 



1. They are far better to store box honey, far out-doing Italians in quality as 

 Avell as in storing it in much better shape ; 



2. They are hardier, will stand the wdnter better, and are not so liable to be 

 reduced by spring dwindling ; 



3. They are better comb-builders. They build straighter, make less drone: 



