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A MONTHLY JOURNAL 



Devoted to tl^e Interests of Hor]ey Producers. 



$L00 A YEAR. 



w. z. HDTCHiNSON, Editor and Proprietor. 



VOL X. 



FLINT. MICHIGAN, MAY. 10, 1897. 



NO 5, 



[ I am sorry to say that illuees prevented Bro. 

 Taylor from furnishinK his cnstomary report 

 this month.— Ed. 



Iprovement of the Honey Bee. 



L. A. ASPINWALIi. 



JN the Review for 

 Oct. 1896. my 

 subject treated of 

 degeneracy. A 

 knowledge of facts 

 relative thereto 

 should be produc- 

 tive of pointers in 

 a converse direc- 

 t i o n — towards a 

 higher type — an 

 improvement of 

 the honey bee. 

 Cheshire, in his iidTnirable, '• Bees and 

 Bee-keeping, " speaking of Apis Dorsata, 

 argues against any improvement in size, in 

 that they would be out of proportion, or 

 harmony, with the Horal world; also propor- 

 tionally, with an increiise in size, would 

 their activity or powers become diminshed. 

 Although Cheshire's work is wonderfully 

 correct, still he seems to have overlooked 

 the fact that much improvement and devel- 

 opment of size has been made both in the 

 animal and vegetable world, and still the har- 

 mony is not in any perceptible degree 

 lessened. 



The bumble bee is a successful rival of 

 the honey bee, not only in gathering honey 

 from those flowers adapted to their 

 size, but those much larger, notably the 

 red clover. The bumble bee also works 

 freely on fruit blossoms, white clover and 

 basswood. 



If Bombus were a permanent colonizing 

 race, pos.sessing qualifications equal to those 

 of Apis Melifica, great results might be ex- 

 pected; and we could well afford to have 

 them deteriorate a little in size, ( say one 

 half ) for the devlopraent of other and 

 more desirable qualiti cations. 



When about nineteen years of age I un- 

 dertook to produce a cross between them 

 and the honey bee by an attempt to artifi- 

 cially fertilize a few drone eggs; but the bees 

 removed them. Had they been in worker 

 comb the chances of removal might have 

 been lessened. However, it is questionable 

 whether a cross can be obtained. Even if 

 it could be, further reproduction might be 

 impossible. However, such a cross, seem- 

 ingly, would be very desirable; and certain- 

 ly so, if the characteristics of the honey bee 

 were retained with an increase of size suffi- 

 cient to obtain honey from the red clover, 

 together with llie ability to withstand cold 

 winters in single-wall hives. If possible, 

 an attempt to accomplish it should be made. 

 Things very improbable are sometimes 

 brought about. 



That the honey bee is susceptible of de- 

 velopment in size is self-evident from the 



