Vol, VIIL 



MAY, J898. 



No, 5, 



th:^ itaI/IAn bbe. 



Its Natural Adaptability to Vary- 

 ing Conditions. 



Writteti for the American Bee-Keeper, 



BY J. B. CASE. 



EES differ in characteristics and 

 require different management. 

 • - •• Many bee-keepers condemn cer- 

 tain races of bees as being inferior to 

 others, without considering that per- 

 haps, their syste^m, or want of system, 

 of management is such, that they are 

 trying to force the bees to do some- 

 thing which, perhaps, nature has been 

 opposing for centuries in the locality 

 in which their progenators were bred. 

 A dairyman selects the breed or 

 grade of cows most valuable to him 

 for the line of business he expects to 

 follow. If he desires to sell milk he se- 

 lects a milk breed; if he expects to 

 make a specialty of butter-making he 

 selects with that end in view. But a 

 stockman selects for beef. After the 

 selection, to obtain the best results, the 

 characteristics of the selected breed 

 must be studied and the environments, 

 care, feed, etc., must be suited as far as 

 possible to the habits of the breed 

 chosen. Instead of trying to enforce 

 the fancy bred animals to adapt them- 

 selves to unfavorable surroundings, 

 everything possible is done to adapt 

 the surroundings to the habits of the 



particular breed cf animals he has 

 chosen. And so with poultry. The 

 Leghorns in a cold climate, must be 

 warmly housed and given the most 

 careful attention to be profitable, while 

 the heavy feathered fowls are not so 

 well suited to a warm climate as are 

 the Leghorns, and need a different 

 care. 



The Cyprians were generally discard- 

 ed as they were too cross. The so- 

 called "Holy Land" bees were not as 

 satisfactory as were the Italian, and 

 were soon only a memory in most 

 yards. The black and the Italian bees 

 with their crosses, have been more 

 widely tested than any others. Langs- 

 troth, Quinby, L. C. Root and thous- 

 ands of other careful, conscientious 

 bee-keepers, commenced bee-keeping 

 with black bees, and, by careful com- 

 parisons with the Italian, decided that 

 the latter were the most satisfactory 

 and protitable, all things considered. 

 A few claim the blacks as better in 

 some respects; while many aver that 

 the first cross hybrids are superior to 

 either race, or to any yet tested; while 

 still others find points of superiority 

 in Carniolans, or different strains of 

 Italians, such as "dark," "albino," 

 "golden," etc. 



Bee-keepers differ in training, in 

 habits, manner of doing things; some 

 are quick in movement, others slow. 



