THE AMERICAN APIGULTURIST. 



have not really got the time to 

 spare to do it. 



Next come the Cyprians. Well, 

 what is the testimony in resard to 

 these ? It is so varied in character, 

 and so conflicting, that I for one 

 cannot accept it as proving any- 

 thing as yet very favorable to them. 

 They are cross, prone to swarm, 

 run to fertile workers, but very 

 prolific ; so much so that some of 

 our ablest beekeepers say they want 

 two colonies of Italians to supply 

 the brood with honey. These bees 

 are not the kind for which I wish 

 to change my Italians, not yet. 

 "Well, how is it with the Holylands ? 

 The only good point I have heard in 

 regard to these, on Avhichthe testi- 

 mony fully concurs, is that they are 

 splendid qneen-rearers. If this is 

 so, then they are just the bees for 

 queen-breeders to use, but for us 

 who are after honey, we must have 

 something other than queens. And 

 so we go, Syrians, Hungarians, 

 Carniolans, Polands, etc. None 

 of them, so far as they are yet 

 known, anywhere equal the Ital- 

 ians in general points of excellence. 

 Perhaps each of them may have 

 some one point in which it excels, 

 but as a whole the Italians are as 

 yet far, far ahead. Why tlien 

 should we change them? If any 

 one does desire so to do, simply to 

 be in the fashion, all right. I, to- 

 day, am speaking for that class 

 who want bees for business. We 

 are told that the Italians are hy- 

 brids. Perhaps they are, but they 

 are now a distinct strain, and have 

 been bred " true to color " for so 

 many centuries (I claim that the 



yellow bees of which Virgil speaks, 

 are Italians), that their character- 

 istics are firmly fixed and they 

 duplicate them every time in their 

 offspring. To those beekeepers 

 who have had a large experience, I 

 have nothing to say in this article. 

 They are as capable of judging as I 

 am ; but to that class who are just 

 beginning to learn this interesting 

 profession of ours, I must say go 

 slow. The Italians have been well 

 proved, and we know what they 

 are ; these new races are compara- 

 tive strangers to us, and have their 

 reputation yet to make. If they 

 eventually lead the world, well and 

 good ; if not, all right. For my 

 part, I advise beginners to let them 

 alone, and allow those who have 

 had large experience to test them. 

 Thus will the tests be well made, 

 and if, in the race for the survival 

 of the fittest, the Italian has to 

 take a back seat, no harm is done 

 by waiting ; but if they do not, then 

 the loss will fall where it should, 

 on those who can afford to sustain 

 it. 



Foxboro, Feb. 2, 1884. 



BEE PO WER AND MAN 

 PO WER. 



Bv J. W. Porter. 



Professor Hasbrouck's article 

 in 3'our January number is very in- 

 teresting and opens up a subject 

 of great importance. 



That a great amount of time 



