390 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. 



" Allow me to suggest to you an idea that may be of im- 

 portance. These bees come from the Italian Alps, where they 

 have received no attention. They are in a state of nature, sus- 

 ceptible, in my opinion, of great improvement, at least, as far 

 as form and color goes, by culture and careful breeding. In 

 order to do this, they should be allowed to build their own comb, 

 as soon as may be, and the largest and best colored queens be 

 selected to breed from ; avoiding breeding in-and-in as much as 



" I have received a letter from a friend, stating that one of 

 his queens is quite dark ; and he seems troubled about it. A 

 little knowledge, if not a dangerous thing, is sometimes an un- 

 comfortable one. Any one at all familiar with common black 

 bees, knows very well that their queens vary much in color, 

 and I see no reason why the Italians should not do the same, 

 within certain limits, and still be true to the race. Those who 

 are anxious to have high-colored queens, must resort to careful 

 breeding."- 



A. J. BIGLOW'S EXPERIENCE, ETC. 



SACRAMENTO, December 29th, 1860. 



Mr. J. S. HARBISON : Dear Sir. At your request, I have 

 much pleasure in giving you what few items I have gathered 

 since my connection with the Italian bees, and my experience 

 with them. 



Having received an invitation from Mr. S. B. Parsons to 

 become his agent in California and Oregon, through recom- 

 mendation of Eev. L. L. Langstroth, I left Sacramento on the 

 first of September last for the Atlantic States. While there, 

 preparing the bees for shipment, I made many inquiries of dif- 

 ferent apiarists in reference to different importations of Ital- 

 ian bees, my object being to gather facts in relation to them. 

 The following items I find in the Country Gentleman of 

 November 1st, which corresponds with the results of my in- 

 quiries. " Richard Colvin, of Baltimore, and Samuel Wagner, 



