746 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Sept. 



blacks. All the Italian bees that I have had have 

 been cross, and ugly to handle. We are now going 

 to try the Carniolan bees, as they are recommend- 

 ed to be less inclined to sting, and I believe they 

 will be more gentle than the Italians, as they look 

 more like the brown bees. As for myself, I can 

 handle any of them without gloves or veil; but 

 other folks have to be about them, and for that rea- 

 son 1 want good-natured bees. .E. France. 



a. 1 agree with Brown. I think that Italians are 

 as good as hybrids in all respects, and, in some 

 points, as those mentioned, a great deal better. 

 Cross bees certainly cost a great deal of time, to 

 say nothing of comfort and temper. I am not fond 

 of shaking and brushing bees off the combs for ex- 

 tracting. I would rather let them crawl off. The 

 Reese bee-escape does the business, and saves 

 time, trouble, and stings, b. In practice, hybrids 

 are always to be found in my apiary, because there 

 are black bees around me, and I do not think it 

 worth while to replace a good queen simply be- 

 cause she is mismated. Nearly all my queens, though, 

 are reared from selected Italian stock. My breed- 

 ing queens are selected, not because of the looks of 

 themselves or bees, but principally because of the 

 work their bees do. Yellow bands do not gather 

 honey. J. A. Green. 



a. Although I am a strong advocate of judicious 

 crosses between the best strains of German and 

 Italian bees, I do not prefer such bees as Jones de- 

 scribes. Judicious crosses (call them hybrids if 

 you will), while they shake from the comb more 

 readily, they do not leave the combs when the hives 

 are opened, and tl3' into the air and roll down in balls 

 at your feet any more than pure Italians. Again, 

 they differ from Jones's hybrids, because they do not 

 sting or rob any more than any other bees extant. 

 If these crosses were not as good natured as any 

 other good working strain of bees, I would say, get 

 the good-natured strain and discard the others. 

 The above is my practice. I know of no bees any 

 more easy to handle, nor as good honey-producers, 

 nor as excellent comb-builders, as the crosp-bred 

 bees above described. James Heddon. 



Well, friends, I am a little bit surprised, 

 and may be somewhat disappointed in your 

 reports, especially as so many side in with 

 Jones. There is one point, however, where 

 I should agree. The man who destroys 



good queens simply because the workers 

 ave not all the marks and stripes to accord 

 witli his notions, seldom becomes very 

 much of a honey-producer. We meet such 

 individuals now and then. What I mean is, 

 those who lay great stress on looks and 

 markings, and little or none on other quali- 

 ties as honey-gatherers. In visiting the 

 great honey-producers I almost invariably 

 find they have more or less hybrids ; but 

 their colonies are all populous, and most of 

 them are great workers. Another thing, 

 one must have a good deal of time to spare 

 who watches the markings of bees of every 

 particular colony when he has stocks by the 

 hundred. A great many honey-producers 

 also, if I am correct, are in the habit of de- 

 stroying queens where the bees are exceed- 

 ingly vicious ; and they do this, too, even if 

 said vicious colony gives extra yields year 

 after year. It is true, that blacks as well 

 as Italians occasionally give us very gentle 



bees, and the reverse is also true. I can not 

 remember now, though, that we ever had 

 a colony whose queen was imported from 

 Italy, whose bees were so cross that we re- 

 garded them as a nuisance. Dr. Mason, are 

 you sure that you did not " scold " that col- 

 ony of imported bees? You should have 

 written right back to A. I. Hoot, that he 

 was an impostor and a fraud, because he 

 sent you a hybrid queen when you ordered 

 and paid for an imported queen. 



Question 144.— a. Which }>ccs, as a general rule, 

 give the must hauii accord/bng to your experience— 

 leather-colored Italians, <>>• the very uellow beest '-. 

 Are the so-called four-banded golden Italians any lat- 

 ter workers than the average Italians:' 



a. Leather-colored, b. No. Rambler. 



a. I think the leather-colored Italians deserve the 

 preference; b. No. Geo. Grimm. 



a. The leather-colored Italians; b. No, not as 

 good with me. A. E. Manum. 



a. Leather-colored ; b. Not according to my ex- 

 perience. A. J. Cook. 



a. Leather colored, part black, b. I don't know 

 them. P. H. Elvvood. 



a. The leather-colored Italians, every time. b. 

 No, not that I know of. James Heddon. 



a. The leather-colored, b. No. As a general rule 

 they are not much better workers than German 

 brown bees. Paul L. Viallon. 



I never saw much difference in the honey gather- 

 ing qualities of bees as to color, b. I never had 

 any. E. France. 



a. My experiments have not been sufficiently ac- 

 curate to justify an answer in favor of one or the 

 other. R. Wilkin. 



a. The dark Italians, or a cross between the yel- 

 low and black bees. b. I think not. 



H. R. BOAHDMAN. 



a. I have not made close enough observations to 

 have a decided opinion, b. I don't think I ever had 

 any four-banded bees. C.C.Miller. 



The brightest Italians are good enough for me. 

 But the greater propensity for honey-gathering 

 among those mentioned above is imaginary, accord- 

 ing to the best of my judgment. C. F. Muth. 



a. I have not got that conundrum answered yet, 

 in my own mind. When I do I will report. 1 have 

 two swarms of very yellow bees, that are certainly 

 very fine in every respect. Mks. L. Harrison. 



Very yellow Italians may be very good if they 

 have not been bred " in and in," with sole regard to 

 color, as is too often the case. For this reason we 

 feel safer with the leather-colored bees. 



Dadant & Son. 



a. My first experience with yellow bees was not 

 satisfactory. I have had for some time very light 

 bees that are equal to any in color lor honey, b. \ 

 know nothing about the four-banded Italians. 



S. I. Fkeeborn. 



The leather-colored Italians. The stock 1 prefer 

 is neither very dark nor very light. The yellowest 

 bees I oversaw were also about the poorest work- 

 ers. Some strains of these yellow bees produce 

 comb honey with dark cappings. 1 would not keep 

 aaueen which produced such bees, in my apiary. 



