HOKTICULTUKAL SOCIETY. 251 



The best known varities of the honey-bee are the German or 

 Black, the Italian or the Ligurian, — as they are known in England 

 — the Syrian and the Cyprians the Carniolans the Dalmatians, 

 and the Caucasians. 



The German or Black bee is the best known variety, and the 

 German bees like the Germanic Baces have been for ages the 

 most widely distributed. 



The Ligurian or Italian bee was first mentioned and discribed 

 by Aristotle. 



Speaking of the three different varieties of the honey-bee well 

 known in his time, he discribes the best variety as "small and 

 round in size and shape, and variagated in color." These bees 

 were first described as a variety different from the German bee 

 by Spinola in 1805. The name Ligurian comes from that of a 

 province of Northern Italy North of the Ligurian Gulf, or gulf of 

 Genoa. 



The region is hemmed in by the Alps and here in warm and 

 genial Italy was developed this most beautiful, valuable, and 

 tractable race of bees, the beautiful Italians. 



Dr. Dzierzon the foremost German apia-istof his time intro- 

 duced the Italian bee into Germany in 1848, in 1859 Neighbor in- 

 troduced the Itallian bee into England and in the same year Mr, 

 Wagner, of Philadelphia and Mr. Colvin, of Baltimore, imported 

 some Italian bees from Dzierzons apiary. 



In 1860 Mr. Parsons, of Flushing, Long Island, imported a 

 number of colonies direct from Italy, and now, but thirty years 

 after its first importations, this valuable variety of the honey- 

 bee is very generally introduced throughout the U. S. 



Mr. C. N. Wilson of The Bural Californian wrote me uuder 

 date of December 27, 1884, that the estimated number of colonies 

 of bees in four counties in California in 1884, was 76,000 and the 

 average yeild of honey per colony was 200 pounds, making the 

 honey yeild of Califordia for 1884—15,200,000 pounds,— $1,100,- 

 000. 



Bees were not known in California until 1853 when they were 

 brought by sea to San Francisco and sold high as §300 per hive in 

 that city. 



The average price now paid in California is £3.00 per hive, 

 Italian Queen-bees when first brought to California in 1861, sold 

 for §100 in gold coin, now they sell at §2.00. 



IMPOKTANCE OF APICULTURE. 



As the economic importance of this industry is more generally 

 realized, a wide-spread and growing interest is manifested in this 

 much neglected branch of rural husbandry. The lack of practical 

 knowledge is the main hindrance now existing in the way of the 

 very general adoption of this pursuit among agriculturists, as 

 nearly all parts of the United States are well adapted to profitable 

 bee-keeping. 



An idea of the present importance of this industry can be gained 

 from the following figures, taken from the report of the statistician 

 of the Northwestern Society of Bee- Keepers. He says: "Accord- 



