196 



THE AMERICAN A PIC UL TUB 1ST. 



made the Italian bee so great a 

 favorite, is the ease by which it 

 can be identified as such, and by 

 which any attempts at fraud are at 

 once discovered. As well might 

 we attempt to set up a standard 

 in cattle or sheep, without breeding 

 them up to the point of possessing 

 certain characteristics of form or 

 color, as to attempt to do the same 

 with our bees. For the reasons 

 given above, and which reasons 1 

 think will be accepted by all as 

 correct, it will be seen at once that 

 the " coming bee" will never be a 

 cross between the black and yellow 

 races. Such crosses can never be 

 made to give any fixed standard 

 by which the candidate for favor 

 can be identified. Breed as you 

 will, either the black or yellow will 

 predominate in some individuals, 

 while in others the mixture will 

 partake in a greater or less degree 

 of either or both. In fact, we may 

 have from the same progenitors, 

 workers with three yellow stripes 

 or bands, two bands, one band, 

 and no bands at all, and it will be 

 impossible to determine until the 

 individuals emerge from their 

 cells which race predominates. 

 This brings us to the question at 

 once. From what source will the 

 "coming bee" spring? My an- 

 swer is, either from the Italian 

 alone, or from a cross with that 

 variety, and some of the new yel- 

 low races. I believe that the possi- 

 bilities of the Italian bee are yet 

 unknown. With care in breeding 

 it, we may create a strain that will 

 be as much superior to anything 

 now known, as the Italian is at the 



present time, in the estimation of 

 a large majorit3^ And wh}' should 

 we experiment to any great extent 

 in crossing our bees, before we ex- 

 haust the possibilities of breeding 

 the pure Italians? Can any one 

 give a reason, save the desire to 

 see what can be done in a new di- 

 rection? In stock breeding, suc- 

 cess has only been obtained in 

 sticking closely to some well de- 

 vised and matured plan of opera- 

 tions, and exhausting these, 

 before making any changes. The 

 noble Shorthorn and the graceful 

 Jersey are familiar examples of 

 what may be done by breeding 

 closel}' in a given direction, and 

 on a given line ; and can we ex- 

 pect to do more than this in breed- 

 ing our bees ? It is true that in 

 breeding bees, we have the advan- 

 tage of rearing several generations, 

 iji the same time that the stock 

 breeder is rearing one ; but this 

 advantage is overcome entirely by 

 the fact, that the stock breeder can 

 select from the best individual 

 specimens, with which to produce 

 future progeny, while we with our 

 bees, must to a certain extent 

 leave the matter of raising individ- 

 ual specimens and mating them, to 

 the blind law of chance. True, we 

 may breed a queen from a tested 

 mother, still the queen so bred 

 may prove a poor specimen, and 

 the copulating drone may prove a 

 poor specimen also ; as a matter 

 of fact the advantage claimed in 

 being able to breed a number of 

 generations in a single season is 

 more theoretical than real. The 

 best individual of a given race may 



