THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



51 



[For the Araerican Bee Journal.] 



Purity of Italian Queens. 



Drau Bke .TouiiNAi.: — I haste to make yon 

 aoquaintcd Avith a great diseovory which I have 

 just made; at least a great oue to me, perhaps 

 your readers may uot all concur iu the state- 

 ment. 



Before detailing it I will briefly enumerate 

 the advantages of some plan by which we may 

 tell immediately whether a queen or her progeny 

 is tainted with black brood or not. 



The first test given us is, that a queen's work- 

 ers shall all have the three yellow bands dis- 

 tinctly. 



Bui it has happened so often that a hybrid 

 queen will produce workers almost perfectly 

 marked, that we think it would be verj-^ difficult 

 indeed for a novice to distinguish by that alone 

 what queen he might rear from. 



Again, we are told that none can be considered 

 as pure unless their roj'al daughters, when im- 

 pregnated by their drones, produce three-bau- 

 ded workers, &c. &c. NoAV this test I have 

 found a very good one ; but, Mr. Editor, " aint 

 it an awful sight of trouble V" 



Still again — and we think a little more in the 

 right direction — "Impeccability of temper," 

 as one correspondent said (we forget his name,) 

 with the linen pants on, who sat down on the 

 frames. 



Now, how are we to test their temper ? I 

 once, last fall, so irritated the progeny of a 

 twenty dollar Langstroth ciueen, tliat it w;is 

 almost impossible to go within two rods of their 

 hive, and this was occasioned only by trying to 

 remove some brood on a cold morning after 

 forage had nearly failed. Yet they were as 

 peaceable as ever next day. On the other hand 

 I have a colony of one and two ringed hybrids 

 that are nearly as peaceable as the pure ones, 

 having never been irritated. 



Now Foii THE TEST. Ouc of thc first and 

 most distinct peculiarities from our c »mmon 

 bees that I noticed, was that the workers accom- 

 pauj'ing my twenty dollar queen, would allow 

 themselves to be breathed on without noticing 

 or resenting it in the least ; whereas nothing so 

 exasperates and provokes to fury black bees, or 

 those having any taint of the bltrek race, as 

 breaching on them. 



A few days ago, in showing a friend thc do- 

 cility of the Italians, I stooped down and 

 breathed full upon them, as they were clustered 

 out in front of the hive ; nay, I even pushed 

 them away with my lips, without their betray- 

 ing any symptoms of auger. To show him the 

 dilfcri nee, 1 then breathed slightly on a hive of 

 black bees near. Ofcoar.se 1 liad a lot of them 

 promptly in mj' face. I next tried it on a hybrid 

 stock (first putting my millinet veil over my 

 face.) The eilect reminded me of a charge of 

 buck-shot. Thc same result with my quiet 

 hybridsaheady mentioned; and the same with a 

 colony that I hud considered pure, until I tried to 

 raise queens from them ; a colony where the 

 young Italians were just hatching, flew in my 

 face, all except the Italians, which stood their 

 ground with perfect uucouceru. 



Now, all ye that would know if your queens 

 arc pure, go and breathe on your bees in 

 front of the'hive, and my word for ir, if they ar( 

 2)ure, youamnot arouse their anger by so doing. 



1 fully expect many dialers in Italian queens 

 will i)rotest against this test, and well they may; 

 and perhaps they too Avill conclude that a queen 

 that will stand that test, is worth twenty dol- 

 lars, as per correspondent before mentioned. 



A. I. Root. 



Medina, Ohio. 



p. s. — I don't use tobacco, nor whiskey. 

 Either will interfere with thc validity of my 

 discovery. 



P. S., No. 2. — If any of your readers get 

 their eyes sw^elled up, so that they cannot see 

 at all, bid them remember that it is in a great 

 cause. 



On receiving this communication we sent an 

 account of Mr. Root's discovery to Prof. Varro, 

 of Washington, Pa., requesting him to test it, 

 and communicate the result. He has obligingly 

 favored us with the following confirmatory 

 reply. [Ed. 



For the American Bee Journal, 



Mr. Editok: — In acknowledging your favor 

 of the Gth inst., together with the reception of 

 the first volume of Uie " Journal," I beg your 

 leave to subjoin a few desultory remarks upon 

 the various heads which of late, have made 

 their appearance in your publications and else- 

 where, directly referring to apiculture. 



The use of rotten wood as recommended by 

 Rev. L. L. Langstroth, Third Edition, Page 27. 

 foot note, and by him considered best, Page lo-l, 

 same edition, I consider as nothing very exfra 

 in practical bee culture, although its praises 

 have been repeatedly resung (B. J , Volume 

 Second, Page 227, and Volume Third, Page 20.) 

 In dissenting from the views above enter- 

 tained, it seems but fair that I should state my 

 reasons for doing so. By the substitution of 

 " Kiilickinick" lor rotten wood, or rotten rags, 

 j you can on removing the honey board, expedite 

 I one Avhiif transversely over the frames, and at 

 i the same moment shilt and lift an}' frame from 

 I the body of the hive, before the bees seem to be 

 1 aware of your presence. By now jerking j'our 

 I one-bunded Italians upon tlie remaining frames 

 and sending another whitf after them, none will 

 usually remain above yV>7' a second or so. — Try it 

 — and thus you may at the same lime '"worship 

 your idol," spare llie wings of many bees, and 

 save your trouble of hunting, storing, i)reser- 

 viug, rehunling and preparing your welcome 

 rotten wood. I am well aware that our Rev. 

 friend, L. L. Langstroth, dissuades the genuine 

 lover of bees fronrusing the sickening lumes of 

 tobacco, and lest I be accused of encouraging a 

 bad habit, the genuine lover of bees, or the 

 keeper of a whole swarm or two, or the apiarian 

 of a hundred ^JK?'<; liallan stocks, may use stoeet-* 

 ened water. If you concede that the ''smoke 

 pipe" is more liandj' than the '* smudge," con- 

 sidering that with the use of the latter it is next 

 to impossible to replace a frame, witliout crush- 

 ing u bee or two, 1 shall hold my pipe forever. 



