1908 



(JJ.KANINCJS IN BEE CULTURE. 



i<W 



different characteristics. Dr. Munson, whose 

 work, is ec]ual to Hurbaiiic's, and perhaps more 

 important, also worics on the same lines, having 

 originated a number of splendid varieties of 

 grapes by crossing distinct species of wild and 

 tame grapes. Working along such lines the)- 

 have effected improvements at one jump which 

 would have taken several generations to effect if 

 done by the ordinary way of seed selection. 

 Such varieties are probably much more perma- 

 nent than those produced by selection. 



It is practically the same in regard to animals. 

 Prof. Cossar Ewart has succeeded at one bound 

 in creating a new breed of horses by crossing the 

 horse and zebra. Such an animal possesses great 

 stamina and courage. It can probably live in 

 Africa, where no horse can live on account of the 

 tetse fly. 



In this country a cross between the buffalo and 

 the cow produces a remarkably healthy and 

 hardy animal able to resist blizzards, and beefy 

 enough to compare with a Hereford graded steer. 



Our most highly domesticated animals are the 

 weakest, and most subject to disease. This is 

 more particularly true of the race horse, which 

 suffers greatly from diseases of the bone. Our 

 thoroughbred cattle such as Holsteins, Jerseys, 

 and Guernseys are subject to tuberculosis in a re- 

 markable degree. Probably the healthiest horses 

 in all America are the two wild ones belonging 

 to the Zoological Garden, of New York. In 

 size and appearance they resemble Arabian or 

 Morgan horses. This shows that, the further we 

 get from the true type, the greater is the risk of 

 weakness. The high-bred English horses were 

 no match for the half-wild ponies of the Boers. 

 They could not stand the "grief" and hardship 

 of a severe campaign. Texan ponies did far 

 better, and there isn't a deal of difference be- 

 tween the so-called wild horses of Nevada and 

 Oregon and the genuine wild horses of Asia. 



Our efforts at improvement by selection are 

 not always satisfactory in an esthetic sense. Our 

 asses are very homely, whereas the wild asses are 

 really beautiful, having short ears and elegant 

 forms ; our mules are homely ; but a natural 

 mule between the ass and the horse, or between 

 the zebra and the horse, or between the zebra and 

 the ass, are really beautiful animals ; moreover, 

 they are wonderfully healthy and hardy. 



The cattelo is more noble-looking than the 

 bull, and more robust than the buffalo — superior 

 to either for several purposes. It is nearly the 

 same in regard to domestic fowls. The best 

 turkey is the wild turkey or its crosses, either to 

 look at or to eat. The best goose for table pur- 

 poses is a direct cross of the wild Canadian goose 

 and the common domestic kind. 



Our best table fowls are the ganae which very 

 much resembles the wild chickens of India. 

 The Dorking fowl closely resembles one of the 

 wild species of chickens, and that, too, is a great 

 table bird. Cross these two breeds and we get 

 the best table fowl of all. In other words, our 

 highly domesticated breeds lack stamina and 

 tine health. 



Another point is this: By crossing or hybrid- 

 izing we secure "sports." In fact, every seed 

 produces a new variety. When Burbank hy- 

 bridizes two species of walnut, such as the Per- 

 sian and American, every nut he plants produces 



a sport, or new variety. In fact, he has had ten 

 thousand new varieties of vvalnuts by this plan. 



The so-called " Darwin " tulips are a case in 

 point. These were produced by hybridizing. 

 There is nothing in nature like them. Burbank 

 produced a new species of flower by crossing 

 nicotiana and petunia, and so on. 



It is evident that the Texans are only follow- 

 ing the lead of the ablest scientific breeders of 

 our age when they cross the Italian, Cyprian, 

 and Palestine bees. It is the quickest way to se- 

 cure results. 



[The crossing of these three varieties was tried 

 in the early '80's; and while the resultant prod- 

 uct showed up well in the supers it was very 

 cross — so much so that many apiarists ha\e been 

 trying to breed it out ever since. There was an- 

 other bad trait in the cross — namely, that it ran 

 too much to breeding out of season. But this 

 very quality that would not be desirable in the 

 North might be valuable in Texas and other 

 warm States where there are long seasons. More- 

 over, that very crossness also would be less pro- 

 nounced, probably, than in the North. The 

 principles that Mr. Morrison has enunciated are 

 correct; but the bee-keeper of the North can not 

 afford to get into his strain of bees some of the 

 undesirable traits of the Cyprian and Holy Land 

 bees. In crossing with other strains we should 

 aim, of course, to weed out the bad and keep the 

 good traits. To do this may require the skill of 

 a Burbank. He who succeeds will have a strong 

 demand for his stock at good prices. — Ed.] 



THE TROUBLES OF AN AMATEUR 

 BEE-KEEPER. 



Spring and Summer Surprises. 



BY F. DUND.^SS TOUH. 



In April I became suspicious that my venture 

 with duplicate queens was a complete failure, as 

 I noticed the bees seemed to run from one en- 

 trance to another as they desired. It was my in- 

 tention to leave the hives under their winter cov- 

 er until well on in May, but it so happened the 

 only possible croquet ground was in front of the 

 hives, and occasionally a ball would run right 

 up to the entrances. The children had played 

 daily all the previous summer without a sting, 

 but 1 felt the risk was too great to run for an- 

 other year. If a change of location was necessa- 

 ry it ought to be done before the bees became 

 very strong. So about the middle of April I re- 

 moved the winter covering, which was as dry as 

 tinder, the top of the box having been covered 

 with tar paper. On opening the hives I found 

 that all the introduced queens were missing, and 

 that the bees were carrying the stores to the oth- 

 er side of the hive. Of course, I removed the 

 division-boards. The hives were changed to the 

 new location; and as they would be exposed to 

 all northerly winds they were wrapped up in tar 

 paper. The usual plan of obstructing the free 

 flight of the bees, by boards in front of the en- 

 trance, was adopted, and there were really few 

 bees lost by returns to the old stands. 



The spring of 1907 was cold and wet, so that 

 building up was very slow. ] expected great 



