HYBRIDS. 



283 



HYBRIDS. 



powerful colony, and had been unusually 

 roused up. Although it was then quite cool 

 weather, they hung on the outside of the hive 

 watching for us, we suppose, until next 

 morning. We then came up behind them 

 with a great volley of smoke, and got them 

 under and kept them so until we could give 

 them chaff cushions and put them in proper 

 wintering trim. The queen was extremely 

 prolific, and we do not know that we ever 

 liad one single queen that was the mother 

 of a larger family of bees. Many of these 

 hybrid queens are extraordinarily prolific. 



Hybrids are more disposed to rob than 

 Italians, but not as much so as the com- 

 mon bees. We decide thus, because, when 

 at work among them, the bees that buzz 

 about the hives, trying to grab a load of 

 l)huider if cliance offers, are almost invar- 

 iably full-blood blacks. They may have 

 a dash of hybrid blood, but we judge not, be- 

 cause hybrids and Italians will often be at 

 work when the blacks are lounging about 

 trying to rob, or doing nothing. We have 

 known a strong hybrid stock to be slowly 

 accumulating stores in the fall when full- 

 bloods, in the same apiary, were losing day 

 by day. See Italian Bees. 



HYBRIDS OF CARNIOLANS AND CYl'IUANS WITH 

 ITALIANS. 



Ill this country, at least, we have as yet 

 done very little to determine with accuracy 



the value of different crosses which can be 

 made very easily. The Italian-Carniolan 

 has been higlily ]iraised by some bee-keepers 

 as being very tame, and capable of great re- 

 sults ill iioiiey-gathering. A cross between 

 Italians and Caucasians is well spoken of. 

 A hybrid of Cyprian and Italian is very good. 

 Though not as vindictive as pure Cyprians, 

 yet they are quite cross. 



It may be well to observe there are two 

 ways of making all bee-crosses; for example, 

 in the cross just mentioned the mother may 

 be Cyprian mated with an Italian drone, or 

 an Italian mated with a Cyprian drone. It 

 must undoubtedly make a difference which 

 way the cross is effected. 



Other hybrids may be considered by the 

 bee-keeper who has in mind to produce a 

 superior strain of bees for some particular 

 purpose. We know that crossing, as a gen- 

 eral rule, increases the size, courage, and 

 stamina of our domestic animals; and it is 

 probably so in bees, yet we have made but 

 little progress along this line, because it is 

 so difficult to distinguish between the cross- 

 es and pure breeds in many cases. 



We have an imperfect control over bees 

 when mating, hence it is very difficult to ef- 

 fect mating just as we desire to have it. 

 In this connection there is a grand field for 

 practical experiments, such as would prove 

 useful to bee-keepers. 



A SLOW nUT SURE WAV OF MO NINO BEES. 



