176 



THE AMERICAN APIGULTVRI8T. 



as we have indisputable evidence 

 that Italian bees formerly sprang from 

 a common origin with the yellow Eu- 

 ropean races, we feel certain that it 

 will lose none of its identity, but be 

 benefited by the addition of the blood 

 of the original race, the Holylands. 



We have in our apiaries to-day Al- 

 bino bees (a freak of the Italians) 

 which so nearly correspond with the 

 Holylands, that it takes the most 

 careful and critical examination of 

 the expert to discriminate them. 



We do not propose to give the 

 history of the different races, but 

 recommend to our readers " Cook's 

 Manual" (latest edition) and the 

 "Beekeepers' Handy Book" (both 

 of which we keep in stock), as these 

 works contain exhaustive descriptions 

 of all the new races of bees. 



It has always been our aim to de- 

 vote a large portion of our attention to 

 the development of the best bees for 

 honey-producing purposes, and with 

 this in view we have served a long 

 and thorough apprenticeship with a 

 number of the most prominent api- 

 arists and queen breeders, including, 

 among others, D. A. Jones of Beeton, 

 Ont., Henry Alley of Wenham, Mass., 

 and J. H. Nellis of Canajoharie, New 

 York. 



We have likewise visited a large 

 number of the former many times and 

 have been a constant attendant upon 

 the beekeepers' conventions in order, 

 if possible, to master this the highest 

 branch of apiculture, for upon first- 

 class queens or mother bees depends 

 the success of the apiarist. 



As with added experience we com- 

 prehend with what apparent neglect 

 queen-rearing has been treated in 



comparison with other branches of 

 the science of beekeeping, we are led 

 to feel that we are as yet but students 

 in one of the most fruitful fields of 

 investigation and discovery, and he 

 who claims that he has reached the 

 ultimatum is justly entitled to the 

 seat of the novice. 



We refer to these matters not to 

 gain popularity, but merely to show 

 that our statements are based on 

 practical experience and should com- 

 mand at least a small degree of atten- 

 tion. 



The beginner, in stocking his api- 

 ary, wishes of course to feel sure that 

 he starts out with the best bees for 

 honey-producing purposes, and hav- 

 ing little or no experience must rely 

 on the judgment of those who place 

 before the public their experiences 

 and opinions. 



It is always noticeable that, as a 

 rule, those who are the first to speak 

 and speak the longest and loudest 

 are those who have had the most 

 meagre experience, others waiting 

 until thay have carefully tested the 

 matter before venturing an opinion, 

 and the advance of apicultural educa- 

 tion has been many times retarded 

 by this deplorable feature which can 

 only be overcome through the agency 

 of a thorough system of association 

 work. 



The Holyland bees were first im- 

 ported into this country in June of 



1880 and yet during the summer of 



1 88 1 numbers of apiarists everywhere 

 were ready to pass judgment upon 

 them. 



Notwithstanding the severe criti- 

 cisms to which this race has been 

 subjected, it has been steadily gain- 



