Italian Bees. 



Bro. Bee-Keepers in the National Assoeia- 

 tio7i assembled : 



I know of no way to get at the above sub- 

 ject in a manner tliat will be more instruc- 

 tive to the inexperienced, than to simply 

 give my experience with this race of bees. 

 This experience will also explain my former 

 writings upon the subject. 



I began bee-ko'eping as a specialty in the 

 spring of 18(59. I began by purchasing 48 

 colonies ot black bees, and one Italian 

 queen, for which I paid $8. From this one 

 1 reared others, though only a few, and con- 

 sequently my experience was mostly with 

 the blacks. I rapidly learned their ways, 

 and at tiie same time some of the disagree- 

 able ways of hybrids. I next purchased 

 one moi'e queen at $2.50, and was quite 

 pleased witli her and lier's, for a time, but 

 more cross:liybrids was the result. About 

 these winters, bees in this part were dying 

 to a great extent, in cellars, special houses, 

 and on their summer stands allKe. 1 noticed 

 that the Italians withstood the disease much, 

 yes, very much better than the blacks. I 

 at once made up my mind to Italianize my 

 apiary, and "done with it." I had about 40 

 colonies and I purchased a queen for every 

 one of the 40 colonies, at $2.00 each. Now 

 1 had Italian bees, and an Italian apiary, 

 and from that time I iiave wintered most of 

 my colonies, while the blacks mostly died 

 around me. But then came new trouble. I 

 was producing mostly extracted honey, and 

 these yellow jackets would not shake oft the 

 combs, but hang like " stick-tights." They 

 would not work in sections till they had 

 filled in too much honey below. Comb 

 honey began to be the most profitable to 

 produce, and I arranged for that, and horror 

 of horrors ! they could not build comb any 

 where near equal to the black bees. Then 1 

 thought that the loud praises I had heard of 

 them, was all " put on " for the gain in this 

 traffic. Really indignant, I took up arms of 

 ink against the fraud. No doubt many were 

 caught by their beauty, and others carried on 

 the deception for gain, but a few good, 

 reliable bee-keeping friends still swore by 

 the Italians, and I was induced to try them 

 once more, i next bought 25 full colonies 

 and some more queens, and at once I began 

 to discover that 1 had a very different and 

 superior race of bees to any I had ever 

 owned or seen before, and also that they 

 would go right up stairs and build more 

 comb in the same length of time than the 

 blacks would. That they were very much 

 superior to the blacks, or my former Italians, 

 as honey gathers (especially in the fall). I 

 began disseminating their blood into my 

 apiaries. In all my surplus honey of last 

 year 1 found but one moth larva. Tiiis year 

 in all the surplus from nearly 400 colonies, 

 andraostall comb honey, not one. The bees 

 do not look like the former Italians I had 

 had, or any I had ever seen, and now comes 

 the best and most exceptional circumstance 

 of all. The hybrids of these and black bees 

 are just as good workers and amiable bees 

 as the pure Italians. In one of my apiaries 

 I still have a few of the old stock ot Italians 

 and the past summer their average yield was 

 not to exceed one-third of that of the best 



colony. Producing honey— most of you 

 know — has always been my favorite branch 

 of apiculture. I must say that I am satisfied 

 with my present stock, though " onward " 

 shall ever be my motto, and I shall do my 

 little might to still improve my bees by des- 

 troying the poorest and breeding from the 

 best. James Heddon. 



Dowagiac, Mich., Sept. 25. 1878. 



Extracted Honey. 



Mr. President and Members of the Na- 

 tional Bee-keepers^ Convention : 

 The theme allotted me by your Executive 

 Committee, is one of no small importance 

 to American apiculturists. Especially is 

 this true at the pi'esent time, when the gen- 

 eral shrinkage of values, incident to a return 

 to specie payments, is constantly lessening 

 the margin between the actual cost of our 

 production and the price they will command 

 in our fluctuating markets ; yet it is one that 

 has, hitherto, received too little attention. 

 In composing this subject we have availed 

 ourselves of facts and figures. Everything 

 in fact that had either a direct or indirect 

 bearing upon, result, and we herewith sub- 

 mit our deductions in the premises. While 

 they do not leave as large a marg n for profit 

 as we could desire, we feel that they are in 

 accord with the facts in the case ; and in 

 submitting them for your consideration we 

 court the fullest investigation of the posi- 

 tions herein assumed. Our only aim has 

 been to correctly solve the problem, i-egai'd- 

 less of all other considerations. 



One hundred colonies of bees are about all 

 that can be profitably kept in one location, 

 and will give one person full employment 

 where the extractor is exclusively used for 

 at least 150 days out of each year." 



In the days of box-hives and black bees, 

 before our late civil war, when gold was the 

 basis of our currency, these iOO colonies 

 were worth .'$500. At the present time, with 

 Italian bees and movable frames, they will 

 represent twice that amount, or $1,000. 

 While in some isolated cases, bees may be 

 purchased for less money. One liundred 

 colonies arranged for the extractor with an 

 extra set of combs are worth, or will com- 

 mand fully that sum. Suitable appliances 

 for carrying on business will cost $500 more. 

 This includes ground for a bee-yard, a bee 

 or honey-house for storing honey in summer 

 and protection of bees in winter, and all 

 other necessary appurtenances. These two 

 sums then will represent the investment. 

 The interest, taxes, and insurance thereon, 

 will amount to about 10 per cent., or $150 ; 

 the labor required at $2.00 per day, will 

 amount to $300 more, $450 in all. This much 

 for the outlay. Now such an apiary will 

 give an annual yield of 5,000 lbs. of extracted 

 honey. But little increase of stock will be 

 secured where the extractor is exclusively 

 used — enough perhaps to cover losses in 

 wintering. According to the above figuring 

 the actual cost of producing extracted honey 

 is 9 cents per pound. 



In the foregoing calculation we have en- 

 deavored to avoid extremes, and thus obtain 

 an averaged result. 



There are localities where our apiary will 

 produce a larger yield ot honey, while in a 

 great majority of cases a less amount will 



