AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



21 



I was also told a few years ago by a 

 gentleman of undoubted integrity^ who 

 had been there several times, that there 

 were dark bees in Italy, those that did 

 not show more that one or two yellow 

 bands, unless filled with honey and held 

 to the light. To me this was an expla- 

 nation of the great diversity of the 

 markings of imported bees and queens. 



Let us next briefly notice some of 

 their principal points of excellence as 

 compared with the black or native bees. 



The workers have longer tongues, 

 and workon blossoms that the natives 

 do not, and often store white honey 

 when they are working on buckwheat ; 

 also, quite frequently, they gather a 

 little honey when the natives are con- 

 suming their stores ; and towards the 

 close of the honey harvest, as the work- 

 ers emerge from the cells, they grad- 

 ually fill the cells in the brood-chamber, 

 and, on account of this trait, no race is 

 so well supplied with Winter stores. 



This sometimes results in a less num- 

 ber of finished sections, but where a bee- 

 keeper has a large number of colonies 

 to look after, and when taking into 

 considertion the valuable time required 

 in fixing the feeding the others up, to 

 get them in condition to stand our 

 rigorous Winters, I consider it a desir- 

 able characteristic. 



They work earlier and later, are more 

 active, less inclined to sting, and protect 

 their stores better. The queens are 

 more prolific ; this, combined with the 

 greater activity of the workers, causes 

 them to breed up quicker in the Spring, 

 and, in consequence, they are in better 

 condition to take advantage of the early 

 honey-flow. At least this has been my 

 experience with the dark or leather- 

 colored Italians ; while with the very 

 handsome 4 and 5-banded strain it has 

 always been the reverse. 



In answering the next question, " To 

 which qualities should we give the pref- 

 erence," a great deal would depend upon 

 the bee-keeper and the circumstances. 

 If the apiary is run exclusively for 

 profit, but little attention need be paid 

 to anything except working, wintering, 

 and comb-building qualities ; while in 

 the apiary carried on for pleasure, as 

 well as for the dollars and cents, due 

 attention should be given to gentleness 

 and color ; and, again, if a few colonies 

 are kept just for pleasure and recrea- 

 tion, then docility and color may be the 

 qualities largely allowed to predominate. 



That it would be desirable to have a 

 scale of markings which would be 

 universally accepted as a standard for 

 the American Italian bee will, I think, 



be admitted by nearly all who are pres- 

 ent at this meeting, and it seems to me 

 that some action can be taken at this 

 time, as well as at any subsequent meet- 

 ing, by whch a standard can be estab- 

 lished, so that queen-breeders will have 

 something to guide them in the selection 

 of their breeding stock, as the breeders 

 of domestic animals have a standard by 

 which to judge every breed and race. 



By way of illustration, let us imagine 

 the breeders of the black-faced varieties 

 of sheep, having no model to breed from, 

 and who did not continually reject those 

 animals that did not come up to the 

 standard in both form and markings ! 

 If, after a few years of such hap-hazard 

 breeding, Mr. A, who keeps Shropshires; 

 Mr. B, Hampshiredowns ; Mr. C, Oxford- 

 downs, and Mr. D, Southdowns, were to 

 turn their flocks together, what would 

 be the result ? You could not find a 

 man who would be able to select every 

 sheep and put it in its proper place. 



Are we not, as breeders of Italian bees, 

 in this very same predicament ? Is there 

 any reason why we should not have 

 some standard by which the average 

 bee-keeper would be able to determine 

 whether or not his bees with three 

 yellow bands contained an admixture of 

 Cyprian or Syrian blood ? 



It is now an indisputable fact that 

 these races and their crosses have 

 many times been sent out for pure 

 Italians, and that many of the so-called 

 pui-e Italians show at least a trace of 

 Cyprian or Syrian blood. 



As to a scale of markings, I have 

 nothing to offer that I consider any- 

 where near perfect, but as a suggestion 

 I offer the following : 



In a scale of 100 points I would 

 divide them as follows : 



Honey gathering and comb-building 

 qualities, 40. 



Wintering, 25. 



Breeding, 15. 



Temperature, 10. 



Color — o. Workers, 4. 

 I). ■ Queens, 3. 

 e. Drones, 3. 



I hope, after the discussion which is 

 to follow, that a committee will be 

 appointed, and that they will be able to 

 agree upon some standard for the 

 American Italian bee, and that it will 

 be adopted by this association. 



Geo. H. KnickePvBockee. 



[The discussions which followed the 

 foregoing essays cametoo late for this 

 week's issue. They will appear next 

 week with the rest of the Report. — Ed.] 



