708 ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



selection of (his race. Just here perhaps I would differ from some 

 others, in that, instead of recommending the selection in all in- 

 stances of the particular colony in the apiary which has yielded 

 the most honey I might select one which had given a smaller number 

 of pounds under the same circumstances than many others, but 

 which presented a uniform and well developed type of the race in 

 question, with no marked inferiority in honey production. Having 

 determined upon these two important characteristics, I should con- 

 sider as coming next, the gentleness of the given colony. Here, 

 invariably, other things being equal, I would select the very gentlest. 

 It should also be borne in mind that this term "gentleness," as here 

 used, is a relative one, for a colony belonging to the Cyprian race 

 could hardly be expected to come up to any such standard in this 

 particular as the Caucasian, Carniolan, nor even the Italian taken 

 all in all. As an illustration of what should be required in this 

 respect, I w r ould state that one of the tests to which I invariably 

 subject a colony of Carniolans whose queen I intend to use as a 

 breeder, is how well they bear manipulation after dark. Of five 

 colonies whose queens and bees might come up to the standard in 

 all other particulars, it will usually be the case that two or three 

 will hardly meet the test of manipulation at night. Standing a 

 lighted lantern or lamp on one corner of the open hive, the frames 

 are lifted, one after the other, with only the use of a small amount 

 of smoke, as would be the case in manipulating during the daytime. 

 The bees must remain appreciably as quiet on the combs as during 

 the daytime, and, above all, must not fly in great numbers toward 

 the light. There are many other tests to which they may be sub- 

 jected, and this is merely cited as an instance of one direction in 

 which the race-characteristic should be examined. 



The Queen. — The queen, likewise, must show, in a preeminent 

 degree, her race-characteristics; that is, she must be prolific for one 

 of her race. This implies, if she be of the Cyprian race, that she is 

 far more prolific than the average, or above the best, Italian queens 

 — more prolific even than the largest and most productive Carniolan. 

 If, on the other hand, she be of the Carniolan race, size, rotundity 

 of form, general robust look and activity are to be considered. While 

 it is expected that she will be more prolific than an Italian queen, 

 yet equal prolificness with any of the eastern races is not counted 

 upon, notwithstanding her extra size. I have never found a queen- 

 bee that was too prolific to suit me. The building up of powerful 

 colonies depends upon this prolificness of the queen, and it hardly 

 needs mentioning here that it is only through having a powerful 

 field force that large yields of honey may be obtained. I must, there- 

 fore, rate extra-prolificness in queens as their most valuable trait. 

 Along with this I look for strength of body, limbs, and wings, in 

 fact, a general compact, symmetrical and well-developed form, 

 combined with activity. Such a queen, showing, herself, all of the 

 race-characteristics of the breed to which she belongs and whose 

 workers likewise show race-characteristics of their class, will be 

 very likely to reproduce herself in her queen progeny, and, through 

 the latter, will give colonies which are typical of the race to which 

 they belong. 



