THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



269 



should interest themselves who have the 

 prosperity and welfare of tliis section of 

 the State in view. It is a well known fact 

 that the exports from a country create new 

 capital in it, greatly in excess of the money 

 directly received. The honey-producing 

 interest is of much greater commercial im- 

 portance than many suppose, and requires a 

 greater outlay of capital. Even some of our 

 own citizens who have not given bee-keep- 

 ing much thought have the idea that a good 

 share of our honey is taken from hollow 

 trees and caves in the mountains by a class 

 of men known as "bee hunters;" while the 

 truth is that appliances and lumber to 

 operate the business in an approved manner 

 are very expensive, beside the watching and 

 care takes time, and the old adage tells us 

 "time is money." 



This season promises an unusually short 

 crop, and those who have material, etc., on 

 hand tor operation should not feel like 

 making undue sacrifices, but stand firmly 

 through this trying ordeal, working persist- 

 ently to reap a rich harvest when it does 

 come, and all should have faith in the 

 future of this industry, if managed honest- 

 ly, economically and skillfully, and during 

 the present season, while we are besieged 

 by those twin foes to bee-keepers, drouth 

 and scarcity of forage, let us sing, as we 

 work, that appropriate air, "Hold the Fort! 

 Hold the Fort!" A.J.Davidson. 



How we may Improve our Bees. 



READ BEFORE THE MICH. CONVENTION. 



Although this subject was indicated to 

 me by Prof. Cook, your president, some 

 may say I improve the opportunity to exalt 

 the Italian bee. The fear of such imputa- 

 tion will not deter me from saying what I 

 think to be true. The movable-comb hive, 

 as well as the Italian bee and the bee busi- 

 ness itself have their detractors; j'et these 

 attacks will never bring us back to the com- 

 mon box hive, or to the common bee, and 

 still less will they make us quit our beloved 

 pursuit. 



The law of variations, in the way of im- 

 provement, is as eternal as matter itself, 

 and as indestructible. It is a living force 

 which all beings obey. It would be useless 

 and impossible here to follow the natural 

 transformations by which organic life has 

 attained its present high condition. The 

 natural changes continue even now, under 

 our eyes, but so slowly, so insensibly, that 

 we cannot perceive them any more tlian we 

 do the moving of the hands of a clock. 



In certain cases man has helped nature in 

 its work, by urging forward the improve- 

 ments which he considers advantageous to 

 his interest. He has thus obtained cows 

 with smaller bones, hogs with a greater 

 propensity to fatten; but, less potent than 

 nature, he was unable, so far, to change the 

 organs, as nature did; yet the variations 

 obtained by man, on certain animals, show 

 that, if such is his desire, he can modify 

 some of the animals to which his attention 

 has not yet been directed. Man has in- 

 creased the prolificness of the hen, of tiie 

 pigeon, and of the domestic rabbit. He has 

 increased the lacteal vessels of the cow; the 

 docility, fleetness, and the strength of the 

 horse, according to his needs or fancy. The 

 dog, in his hands, has become a pointer, a 



shepherd dog, watch dog, bull-dog, or a 



King Charles'. 



wTiat he has done for these domestic 

 animals and a host of others, he can do for 

 the bee. He can increase in them what he 

 thinks desirable, and diminish the peculiar- 

 ities considered noxious. To obtain such 

 improvements he ought to follow the course 

 that he has followed for the domestic 

 animals named. 



How did man proceed to gain these per- 

 fections? By taking advantage of some 

 slight variation in the animals, and by pre- 

 serving and increasing them. Nature does 

 not proceed otherwise. The animal whose 

 variation is the most in accordance with the 

 surrounding circumstances in which it lives 

 will survive; while the other, if they do not 

 find another quarter better suited to their 

 organism will die. This is the law of "the 

 survival of the fittest," found by Darwin. 



Thus the sporting of individuals is the 

 first step to improvement. Bees are not an 

 exception to this law. We see a few of 

 their sportings in their differences of color. 

 We have the black, gray, Italian, Carni- 

 olian, Egyptian, Cyprian, and the Albino 

 bees. These varieties are not confined to 

 color. If we examine these different kinds 

 we notice in every one of them some quali- 

 ties or peculiarities not found in the others. 

 If we find a kind having some desirable 

 qualities of which the others are destitute, 

 we can take advantage of the advance al- 

 ready obtained to increase the qualities 

 desired; thus, to attain the desired end, we 

 profit by all the way naturally traveled 

 ovei'. 



It was such a thought which incited our 

 breeders to import the English breeds of 

 hogs and cows, the Asiatic fowls, the Per- 

 cheron horse, etc. ; and our bee-keepers to 

 introduce the Italian bee in their apiaries. 

 It is not my aim simply to commend the 

 Italian bee; I will only point out some of 

 the qualities desirable in bees, and how we 

 can increase them. In my opinion the 

 most desirable qualities to be coveted in 

 bees are activity, prolificness, endurance, 

 peacefulness, and at last beauty. 



By activity I mean desire to work, and to 

 fill the hive with honey; since honey is the 

 aim of our pursuit. 



By prolificness, we understand a kind of 

 bee whose queens can fill the combs with 

 brood early in spring, so as to have a large 

 force of eathering bees in the honey season. 



Both of these qualities would be reduced 

 to nothing if our bees could not withstand 

 our hard winters; so our bees should be en- 

 dowed with endurance or hardiness. 



The culture of bees would be very un- 

 pleasant and make our improvements more 

 difficult to realize if our bees were always 

 on the alert and ready to fight. I, for one, 

 would prefer ugly bees to warring ones. 

 Fortunately, beauty in bees is not incom- 

 patible with the other qualities. 



Now the best method to improve our bees 

 is quite definite. We have to procure the 

 sort of bees which we consider the best, 

 either the black, gray, Italian, Carniofian, 

 Egyptian, Cyprian, or the Albino, to start 

 our improvement; this choice being made 

 according to our ideas, our knowledge, or 

 our faith. 



Having procured the best kind, we pro- 

 ceed by examining carefully every one of 

 our pure colonies to find which or all are 

 endowed with the qualities most in accor- 



