endeavor to replace the dead queen. 

 The past year has not been a good one 

 for bee-keepers in this section of 

 country. The very late spring, then a 

 short hot spell, up to July, and drench- 

 ing rains with scalding sun, used up the 

 forage. Fall flowers did fairly, and 

 gave stores for winter, but little surplus. 

 On the whole, bee-keeping had little 

 money in it for the season just ended. 

 Grand Meadow, Minn. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Improvement in Italian Bees. 



BY DR. J. P. H. BROWN. 



Can the Ligurian or Italian bees be 

 improved ? is a question of vital im- 

 portance to every bee-keeper. We 

 know that there is a universal law per- 

 vading every department of animated 

 matter by which improvement on de- 

 velopment can be wrought to a greater 

 or less extent. The higher the organ- 

 ization the more perceptible the work- 

 ings of the law. We have living illus- 

 trations of this in our breeds of cattle, 

 sheep, hogs, poultry, dogs, etc. The 

 highest type of illustraton is in the 

 human family. 



This law of susceptibility to improve- 

 ment pervades even the vegetable 

 kingdom. Our present fine varieties 

 of potatoes are said to have originated 

 from a wild, insignificant tuber dis- 

 covered in South America. Our mag- 

 nificent apples are said to have or- 

 iginated from the Siberian crab. The 

 luscious peach from an unpalatable 

 fruit in Asia. Our pears, plums, cher- 

 ries, and in fact, all our fruits have 

 only been brought to their high degree 

 of perfection by this same Taw. We 

 have abundant evidence, and reason to 

 believe, that this power or capacity for 

 improvement can be brought to operate 

 in the development of many desirable 

 qualities of the honey bee. 



That the Italian bee, all things con- 

 sidered, is superior to our native black 

 bee, is pretty generally admitted by all 

 our best and most intelligent bee-keep- 

 ers. We know it has, first, a better 

 honey-gathering capacity ; second, it 

 is more easily handled ; third, it de- 

 fends its hive better from the larvae of 

 the bee-moth ; fourth, it has more 

 strength and power of wing ; and fifth, 

 it is more graceful and beautiful. 

 These are all very desirable qualities, 

 and admit of improvement. But this 

 improvement can only be wrought, and 

 the standard maintaind, by a rational 

 course of selection and breeding. 



We see much said in the Journal, 



about the deterioration of the Italian 

 stock. The chief trouble lies in the 

 many queen breeders who have no 

 natural qualifications for the business. 

 Queen breeding requires, for its suc- 

 cess, more care, precision, science, tact, 

 industry, and promptness of execution, 

 than the majority of bee-keepers pos- 

 sess. The result is defective bees and 

 queens. 



Another very serious injury to the 

 improvement of our bees, has been the 

 disreputable practice of some venders 

 of bees, wares and "clap traps," of 

 scattering broadcast imported queens 

 of " doubtful reputation," thereby in- 

 troducing every degree of mongrel 

 blood. As an inducement to purch- 

 asers of such queens, the price asked 

 for them is far below the actual cost 

 of reliable first-class ones. The falacy 

 that all the bees in Italy are pure stock 

 soothes the consciences of the purch- 

 asers. 



Good breeding stock can only be ob- 

 tained by a process of most careful se- 

 lections of both queens and drones. 

 The most essential point is, individ- 

 uality of character in our queens. The 

 stronger this is, the more likelihood of 

 the progeny being impressed with the 

 qualities we desire to secure, and the 

 less liable it is to breed back ; for it 

 should be borne in mind that the Ital- 

 ian bee is only a variety, and not a dis- 

 tinct breed or race, and is hence liable 

 to revert toward the original. 



JSTo breed of anything can be much 

 improved or developed without some 

 standard of purity or attainment. And 

 if we are to follow the advice of some 

 of the bee-savans of very recent birth in 

 regard to Italian purity we will soon 

 find ourselves breeding out a distinct 

 variety of the honey bee into no breed 

 at all. We commence to drift into 

 mongrel chaos the moment we lose 

 sight of the markings of purity — the 

 three abdominal bands — as recognized 

 by the early importers of Italian queens 

 into this country and into Germany. 



Besides the careful selection of 

 queens with due reference to the de- 

 sirable qualities we wish to secure, it 

 is absolutely necessary, in order to rear 

 the best queens, for all the conditions 

 upon which the development of queen- 

 life depends to be as perfect as pos- 

 sible. 



AVhen these conditions are all right, 

 we may expect good queens, but fine 

 queens without pure drones to fertilize 

 them will make but little progress to- 

 ward improvement. However plaus- 

 ible and correct the Dzierzon theory of 

 pathogenesis may be, it is always best 

 if any doubt of it should exist, for 



