Although the honey season was poor, com- 

 pared with last year, and the prospect is that 

 prices for honey will rule low, still we have 

 no reason to be discouraged. Our average 

 yield percolony forthepast 6 years has been 

 94 lbs. per year. As a person can attend to 

 100 colonies, this would give 9.400 lbs. a 

 year, and even at the low price of 16 cents 

 per lb., we would get $1,500 for a year's 

 labor. Lest this statement should lead some 

 to think that all they have to do is lo buy 25 

 or 50 colonies to make a fortune, we will say 

 that we work from early morn till late at 

 night, averaging 15 hours work every day, 

 the year round, Sundays excepted. We 

 know of no business that a man can make 

 profitable while simply folding his hands 

 and sitting idly by. But a thorough knowl- 

 edge of any business, and an untiring 

 energy in the prosecution of it. will always 

 result in success. G. M. Doolittle. 



Borodino, N. Y., Sept. 16, 1878. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Standard of Purity. 



Our friend Mahin asks, in the September 

 Joubnal: "How shall we know when 

 Italian bees are pure?" I will ask our 

 friend. If you have a queen that will dupli- 

 cate herself in her queen progeny, and pro- 

 duces worlcer-bees that show distinctly 

 (without being tilled with honey) the three 

 colored bands, and whose drones are as 

 even and uniformly marked as are the work- 

 ers, with 3 broad, colored bands', all other 

 good qualities being present— industry, size, 

 gentleness, etc.— 1 fvsk, Are such queens 

 pure Italian? If yes, why? If they are 

 impure, why ? You will greatly oblige me 

 by answering in the November Journal. 



You say : "Some of those who have writ- 

 ten on this subject have recommended 

 selecting those stocks to breed from that 

 have well-marked drones," and say you 

 don't think it safe to follow that advice, 

 because the most beautiful drones you ever 

 saw "were the progeny of aqueen whose 

 mother was black, and whose father was an 

 Italian," etc. I am one of the some that 

 gave such advice, and again repeat it, that 

 to improve our bees as to purity, we must 

 pay more attention to the drones ; but not 

 to breed to such drones as you describe, 

 whose mother was a hybrid, being reared 

 from a black queen. No, indeed ; I had 

 reference to drones whose mother was reared 

 from a pure Italian mother. 



I asked the question in the August Jour- 

 nal, Why Italian queens do not, and why 

 they should not, produce all uniform three- 

 banded drones, instead of the mixed progeny 

 they generally produce ? They being the 

 progeny of one queen, it seems to me they 

 should all be alike and uniform in their 

 markings. I ask the question again, and 

 hope to hear something about it in the next 

 Journal. 



The only acknowledged test for purity is 

 that if a queen produces 3-banded workers 

 she is pure. Some breeders even advise till- 

 ing the bees with honey to make them show 

 the 3 bands. This is almost as bad as the 

 man that would catch his bees, and almost 

 pull the poor things in-two, to show you the 



third band was there. "Too thin for me." 



Why not commence further back with 

 the queen's own progeny, the drones, and 

 see if they are all alike, and as uniform in 

 their markings as is claimed the workers 

 must be ? Impregnation of the queen is 

 claimed not to affect the drone progeny, 

 which, if a fact,rvould not prevent her pro- 

 ducing uniform drones, even sliould she 

 mate with a black drone and produce hybrid 

 workers. I do not believe the Dzierzou 

 Theory, and never allow a luis-inated queen 

 to rear drones in my apiary if I know it. 

 To my disbelief I attribute my success in 

 breeding and keeping my bees up to their 

 present state of purity, by killing all such 

 queens at once. I know, then, to a cerUiinty, 

 that I will have no further trouble by their 

 rearing queens from their hybrid brood, as 

 is sure to happen if the apiary is large, and 

 worked for box lioney and natural swarms. 

 How often do we hear words like this from 

 bee-keepers : " Yes, that queen mis-mated; 

 she is such a fine-looking one, and her bees 

 such good workers, that I hate to kill her; 

 besides, you know, her drones will be pure 

 anyway, so I have concluded to keep her ?" 



Now, such queens are just as apt to be 

 superseded by their bees, or swarm unob- 

 served by their keeper, and rear other queens 

 from their own hybrid brood, as are his best 

 queens. In case this should happen, and 

 tliese hybrid queens mate with your best 

 Italian drones, would it not be, sure enough, 

 as friend Mahin says, "Even the most prac- 

 ticed eyes are liable to be deceived, judging 

 by her workers." 



My advice is, if you think the Italians are 

 the best, and you want to keep them strictly 

 pure, kill every mis-mated queen whenever 

 you find one. You will then be on the safe 

 side and have no risks to run. The above 

 has been my practice from the first, and I 

 find it the best, giving the least trouble in 

 breeding, and keeping Italian bees in their 

 purity. J. M. Brooks. 



Elizabethtown, Ind., Sept. 6, 1878. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



Apiaries in Henry Co., Ohio. 



Friend Newman :— While attending the 

 Soldiers Reunion, at Napoleon, Henry Co., 

 Ohio, on the 3rd inst., I had the pleasure of 

 meeting several bee-keeping friends who 

 reside in the viciiiitv, among whom was 

 Col. Mann and D. Kepler, of Napoleon, and 

 Capt. W. F. Williams, of Liberty Center. 

 Presuming a short accouutof my trip would 

 not come amiss to your readers, I will 

 endeavor to be as brief as possible. 



Under the guidance of Mr. Kepler, we 

 stopped at Col. Mann's residence, situated 

 on the banks of the Maumee river. Although 

 near the center of town, it is one of the 

 most pleasant places that could be selected 

 for an apiary. The apiary has a southern 

 exposure, with a gentle slope towards the 

 river, and consists of probably 50 colonies. 

 Owingtotheabsenceof theColonel, Iliad no 

 opportunity of learning of his success dur- 

 ing the sea-on. 



Friend Kepler's apiary, numbering about 

 60 colonies, is located in the north-west part 

 of town. Being anxious to see her majesty 



