February, '21] pellett: beekeepixg problems 115 



We owe much of our information relating to the cause of larval 

 diseases of the bees and their treatment to the Bureau of Entomology, 

 although valuable information concerning the treatment was worked out 

 by practical beekeepers. This knowledge came just in time to save the 

 industry. There are, however, apparently, several diseases of the adult 

 bee which at times cause heavy losses. We do not know, as yet, whether 

 there be one or two, or a dozen of these diseases, nor do we know the 

 cause. There is room for much work in this direction. 



Some Practical Questions 



In the sixties much interest was aroused in the possibility of securing 

 a better race of bees than the black bees then common in this country. 

 The Italians were imported and given much attention on the part of the 

 bee magazines and the leaders in the beekeeping field. They proved 

 to be much superior to the others and have been gradually replacing 

 them since that time. For a niunber of years this interest in new races 

 of bees continued and several men made long journeys to Europe or 

 Asia in search for better bees. Cyprians, Egyptians, Caucasians, 

 Camiolans and several others have been brought to this country at 

 one time or another and given a limited trial. Perhaps the general 

 introduction of these bees into the apiaries of the country, where they 

 were left to chance in most cases, may be a sufificient trial. It would 

 seem, however, that it might be quite possible that the best race of 

 bees for California would not prove equal to some other for New Eng- 

 land. There are several varieties of the honeybee which should be given 

 an extensive trial under different climatic conditions to ascertain their 

 possible value for America. 



The problem of improving our best strains by selection and breeding 

 should receive serious attention. One season, in the writer's apiary, 

 there was a colony of Italians that continued to store surplus honey 

 during a period of dearth when the rest of the apiary was doing little 

 and some colonies were requiring feed to keep them from starvation. 

 These bees were found to be working freely on a field of red clover near 

 by. The tongues of bees from this colony were found on measurement 

 to be slightly longer than any others in the yard. Whether or not this 

 fact explained the greater prosperity of the colony, it continued for a 

 period of three successive simimers to store far more honey than any 

 other in the apiary. The control of male parentage and the influence 

 of the male parent upon the honey storing iDroclivities of the progeny 

 may well receive some attention. 



The cost of wax production to the bees has received some considera- 

 tion from time to time. While it undoubtedly requires more hone}^ under 



