1893 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



219 



RACES, OR STRAINS OF BEES. 



HEREDITY. 



In connection with the breeding of live stock 

 we tind there is great stress laid upon the breed 

 and the individual; and it is only too apparent 

 that the farmer who pays the greate>t atten- 

 tion to this subject, and follows out most close- 

 ly the rules which he knows to be correct, is the 

 one who is most likely to be successful in his 

 operations. Too many bee-keepers, alas! pay 

 but very little attention to either the breed or 

 the individuals. We pursue a kind of haphaz- 

 ard system, which can only lead to very inferior 

 results. Where would our famous dairy and 

 beefing strains be to-day if their ancestors had 

 been bred no more intelligently than we do our 

 bees? They would be where the best strains of 

 bees are yet — undeveloped. We have not as 

 yet obtained the best results in bee-keeping. 

 Why are we so drifting? First, perhaps, be- 

 cause we have not under control the selection of 

 sire, as we have in stock such as cattle, horses, 

 and sheep. Yet even here, when once the im- 

 portance of the question is thoroughly brought 

 to the attfMition of bee-keepers, more care will 

 be observed in not permitting the drones from 

 undesirable stocks to fly. Of course, we must 

 all recognize that nature has done much for us 

 in the selection. First in the royal combat, 

 which takes place under natural conditions, in 

 the majority of cases gives us the strongest and 

 most active mother. Again, in the drones the 

 same disposition we are apt to get when the 

 queen is mated upon the wing. Yet the royal 

 combat is more of an exception than it at one 

 time was. and strength and activity, although 

 highly prized, perhaps most important, may be- 

 come additionally valuable with certain other 

 characteristics added. We want, perhaps, only 

 one trait of the black (or German) bee, and the 

 characteristics which the majority of the Ital- 

 ians possess. The Carniolan bees, I believe, 

 possess some valuable traits: yet among these 

 traits are others which, I believe, render them 

 unfit for the average bee-keeper. Yet, just as 

 individual animals in breeds of cattle are the 

 best in the herd (I have seen among the Dur- 

 haras a bull sold at $13,000, and another Durham 

 worth barely $30.00), so we doubtless have 

 queens and drones whose value is proportion- 

 ately far apart. It requires a somewhat edu- 

 cated eye and mind to find the difl'erence in 

 value in Durhams; and it requires still greater 

 education to find the difference in bees. It re- 

 quires careful work that, I feel satisfied, a sta- 

 tion under the government could assist us great- 

 ly in. I have known, as many another one has 

 known, two colonies side by side, of about the 

 same numerical strength, secure very difl'erent 

 results during the honey season. In fact, it is 

 not too much to say that one colony has been 

 known to give us twice the result of the other, 

 and we have been unable to assign any reason — 

 all has been speculation. But we might as well 

 say there was no reason for one cow giving twice 

 as much milk as the other, as to say there was 

 no reason for one colony securing twice as much 

 honey as the other. 



I do not hesitate to say that the time will 

 come when we will pay greater attention to the 

 length of the tongue of the bee and the size of 

 the load it carries. We shall have instruments 

 by means of which we can measure the exact 

 length of the tongue of the bee; and, again, by 

 means of fine scales we can weigh bees as they 

 leave the hive in quest of a load ; and, again, 

 weigh them as they return, thus finding the 

 bees which have the longest tongue and carry 

 the heaviest load. The rapidity of work can 

 also be estimated. Such work will probably 



never be undertaken first by private enterprise. 

 The government must take this in hand first, 

 and it could do much to help private individuals 

 in their selection. Just as we in this country 

 have a traveling dairy to go about to show the 

 best methods of making butter, to advance the 

 dairy intei'ests, the time may come when it will 

 be part of the worlt of an apiarist at an experi- 

 ment station to select the best parents, the pro- 

 geny of which shall be the material of the fu- 

 ture, with which to carry on bee-keeping. 



I have studied with interest Dr. Miller's arti- 

 cle on heredity. It is a subject upon which the 

 ignorant world about me (pardon me for the ex- 

 pression) considers me somewhat of a crank. I 

 think the nurse-bees may have something to do 

 with the traits of character of the bees they 

 nurse, and still more the young bees they are 

 with later in life. In the same way, although 

 perhaps less, a child imbibes certain character- 

 istics in its mother's milk. We know that an- 

 ger, fright, passion, etc., will have such an ef- 

 fect upon the milk that it becomes poison; and 

 if, taken at once, it will kill the infant, who 

 would say that it may not have certain results, 

 if in a less degree? But I have always looked 

 upon example as moi'e important in human 

 training, as well as in the hive. First heredity, 

 then example and surroundings, leaving out of 

 the question divine power. The bee inherits 

 certain traits— strength, activity, vigor — which 

 lead it to carry out energetically that work for 

 which it is best fitted; tlien the other bees influ- 

 ence their temperament to a certain extent. 

 We know that, if one bee in a hive is angered, 

 and emits the odor of poison, all the bees are 

 angered; and, upon the same principle, it ap- 

 pears reasonable to suppose that, if young bees 

 are brought forth in a hive, with those inclined 

 to be angry, constant irritation in the hive will 

 influence the young bees, and they too become 

 angry; and, just as in man every time he al- 

 lows himself to become angry it is still more 

 easy to become angry the next, so with the bees; 

 and. to a certain extent, such an influence rests 

 on the hive for a time, but not permanently. I 

 have again and again requeened vicious colo- 

 nies — four last summer — with the result that, in 

 time, their disposition has entirely changed. 



I hope that your government will take hold 

 of this question of selection in breeding. I had 

 hoped ours would; but there is no use for ideas 

 to be rusting. We should like to see our own 

 country do best, but we are all interested in the 

 advancement of bee-keeping, and would sooner 

 see others advance otir calling than not have it 

 advanced at all. R. F. IIoltkkmann. 



Brantford, Ont.. Can., Feb., 1893. 



WARMING OUR DWELLINGS BY MEANS OF 

 HOT WATER. 



SOME OF THE POSSIBILITIES IN A LINE WITH 

 THAT NEW GKEENHOUSE, BY A. I. ROOT. 



Since I have seen the workings, month after 

 month, through the severe part of our winter 

 weather, I have begun to realize more and 

 more the importance of my discovery; and I 

 wish to suggest to those who heat greenhouses 

 by means of flues, that, by running water-pipes 

 into the flue near the fire, and having it come 

 out close to the chimney, they can, without any 

 expense, except th^t of the piping in the first 

 place, have overhead heating by the hot water, 

 as well as bottom heat from thu flues. The 

 hot-water pipes right under the glass answer a 

 very important purpose by meriting the snow so 

 as to let the heat and light of the sun get 

 through very much oftener than with the glass 

 structure with no overhead heating. While I 



