392 ITALIAN HONEY BEE. 



ing of queens at sea, while confined in their hives, as it may be 

 of interest to naturalists. No water was given to my bees 

 during the voyage. 



I sailed from Panama, on the steamer Uncle Sam, on the 

 twentieth of November, and arrived at San Francisco on the 

 morning of the sixth of December ; shipped that evening on the 

 steamer for Sacramento, where I arrived on the seventh inst., 

 one month and seven days from New York. I overhauled the 

 bees as soon as convenient, and found one hundred and eleven 

 alive, out of the one hundred and thirteen. 



Many of the swarms had as many bees when I arrived at 

 Sacramento, as when I left New York. I attribute my suc- 

 cess to the rearing of so many young bees on the passage from 

 New York, to San Francisco. 



On the twenty-first of December, I introduced some twenty 

 Italian queens into native stocks of bees, which I examined 

 before removing the native queen, and did not find a single egg. 

 Two days after I let the Italian queens out of their cages, I 

 found eggs in abundance. 



It is my firm conviction, from what I have seen and heard of 

 these bees, that they are peculiarly adapted to the Pacific 

 coast, especially the mountainous region of California and Ore- 

 gon, as the climate so nearly resembles that of their native 

 home. Yours, with respect, 



A. J. BIGLOW. 



BREEDING OF ITALIAN BEES. 



Mr. Langstroth says: "The chief obstacle to the 

 rapid diffusion of this valuable variety has been the 

 difficulty experienced by the ablest German apia- 

 rians in preserving the breed pure ; even Berlepsch 

 having failed entirely to do so." " From one Italian 

 queen sent him by Dzierzon, Berlepsch succeeded in 



