44 



THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



bands, would with us at this day be 

 regarded as suspicious of having a 

 dasli of bhick blood in them. 



By careful selection in breeding, 

 worker bees have been produced in 

 the United States having four and 

 even five yellow bands ; and those not 

 showing three bands and of a uniforui 

 shade being regarded as hybrids. 



Aristotle mentions several varie- 

 ties of bees and frequently alludes to 

 the yelloio race — not partly colored, 

 but yellow. 



Varro, citing Mevocrates, tells us 

 of three kinds of bees : "■one black, a 

 second red, and a third parti-colored, 

 which he recommends as the best." 



When he says red, may he not be 

 understood as meaning yellow. And 

 when he sa3-s parti-colored (party he 

 Las il) is it not the Egyptiau, Syrian 

 or Italian, or perhaps the Cyprian? 



The Italians in gaining one or two 

 yellow bands, as stated above, may 

 they not be descendants of a perfect- 

 ly yellow race, that had an existence 

 at some period in the world's history 

 and by coupling with the blacks, lost 

 part of their coloring? 



In Purchase's work, "A Heater of 

 Political Flying Insects," he gives us 

 a fable taken from Nat. Coui. Mythol- 

 ogy, ''that all bees were at first of an 

 iron color, but a swarm for feeding 

 of Jvpiter, had this reward bestowed 

 upon them, to be changed into a gold- 

 en color. 



Murjreeshoro, Tenn., Dec 20, 1889. 



Encouragements. Honey market 

 improving. 



Geo. F. Uobbins. 



Friend Alley : lu the May number, 

 I think it was, of the Apicultukist of 

 188G, I had an aiticle upon the im- 

 provement of the honey market. In 

 that essay I ex[)ressed the view that 

 the low prices that had tlien prevailed 

 for some months might liot be an un- 

 mixed evil tliat the increased con- 

 sumption of honey made possible by 



the cheapness would create a future 

 demand for it. My prediction has 

 come true in this region. In 1886 I 

 had only one considerable competitor 

 in the Si)ringfield market ; this year 



I have half a dozen. Yet three years 

 ago I sold honey by the hundred at 

 10 cents per lb. This year I have 

 been getting 13 cts. In that year 

 less than half the grocers in the city 

 would handle honey. Now a grocer's 

 stock is not complete without it. I 

 am confident that the seemingly ru- 

 inous prices induced many to use it 

 that otherwise would not have done 

 so, and thus created a want for hon- 

 ey that, with a much greater supply, 

 yet takes it at a higher price. I am 

 not sure but the very errors as I sup- 

 posed of some of my competitors has 

 had a share in bringing about the 

 phenomenal growth of the honey mar- 

 ket. Some of them went to running, 

 hone}' early in the summer at 10 cents 

 per section which as they explained 

 in our local convention was in fact 



II cents, as the sections all under- 

 weighed. These sections the mer- 

 chants sold at from 12i to 15 cts. per 

 lb. or box. But by the last of Sep- 

 tember this ten-cent honey was all 

 gone and those who were holding 

 their hone}' for higher prices have had 

 no difficulty in getting 12^ cts. It 

 begins to look now as though the sup- 

 ply would be exhausted before the 

 winter is over. 



But another item has contributed 

 to help prices. That is by keeping 

 honey off of the city markets. In the 

 article to which 1 have referred, I urged 

 the importance of developing the honey 

 niai'ket. That is one of my hobbies. 

 Begin at home and cultivate your ter- 

 ritory outward — sell to consumers as 

 nuich as you can, is my rule. I aim 

 to keep enough to supply my home 

 trade. Otheis in the vicinity of our 

 central market, Springfield, are doing 

 likewise to some extent. The conse- 

 quence is that while building up a 

 trade at home, we are keeping that 

 much off of our Springfield market. 



