vive, so all but the most vigorous would starve ; 

 hence there was developed an active race with 

 longer tongues." It is much to be regretted, 

 that, just when the superiority of American 

 bee-keeping has been recognized with honor 

 by the masters of European apiculture, it 

 should suffer unjust disparagement by those of 

 our own fraternity. 



The writer just quoted, and who seems to 

 have drawn all Michigan after him, has fixed 

 his affections on apis dorsata as the bee of the 

 future. So far as I am aware I have no pre- 

 judice against any bee, or any man. But I am 

 free to own that I am not enamoured with apis 

 dorsata. 



According to the statements of Edward 

 Cori, and others, this insect, commonly known 

 as "the great bee of Java," is at least twice the 

 size of our black bee. Mr. Cori says of it, " the 

 sting is likely twice as long and stout, and the 

 poison-sac twice as large as that of our native 

 black bee." He adds : " Since the effect of 

 the sting of the common bee on persons not 

 accustomed to it is so great, what must at first 

 be that of apis dorsata ?" But this is not all. 

 He says, further, " with the warm climate and 

 luxuriant flora of Java, the poison of this bee 

 may be of a stronger nature." 



It is no wonder the Javanese are not great 

 bee-keepers when they have such a formidable 

 insect to deal with, considering that their 

 "full dress" is a cotton shirt! Should this 

 become the bee of the future we shall need, 

 not as now, a veil and gloves merely, but a 

 coat of mail for our apiary garb. But this bee 

 is a great winger, as well as a great stinger. 

 It angrily pursues in large numbers and to 

 long distances, the person who disturbs them. 

 Running back and forth, hiding in bushes, 

 and such like devices, are of no avail. It will 

 pursue you like fate, and fix you like destiny. 



Dearly beloved brethren, pray postpone the 

 introduction of this terrible bee until I have 

 died comfortably in my bed. Having been 

 nearly stung to death by an amiable Italian, 

 what chance for my life could I possibly have 

 with "the great bee of Java?" But this 

 charming insect has other peculiarities. It 

 has a fashion of settling high- The swarms 

 invariably cluster on the topmost branches of 

 the loftiest trees. 'They also build the ; r combs 

 in a horizontal, instead of a perpendicular 

 manner. No doubt Yankee ingenuity might 

 be able to adapt hives to this eccentric habit, 

 but fancy the dire effect of a cross. We have 

 overcome the tendency to " higgledy-piggledy" 

 comb-building, but a mix of horizontal and 

 perpendicular, would be " confusion worse 

 confounded." 



The one redeeming quality of this bee 

 seems to be, the length of its proboscis. Cori 

 says, it is nearly twice as long as that of a 

 common bee. I admit fully the value of this 

 feature. In fact one of the chief things to be 

 desiderated in the bee of the future, is length of 



tongue or proboscis. But I would exhaust all 

 endeavors to secure this by judicious breeding 

 and careful selection, before importing a race 

 of bees, whose multiplication would justify, if 

 not demand, governmental interference for the 

 protection of the non-bee-keeping part of the 

 community. 



Lest my opposition to the apis dorsata should 

 be resolved wholly into scare, I will add, that 

 we have no evidence whatever as to its honey- 

 gathering industry and skill. We are told 

 that its honey is " said to be very fine." So 

 we know is that of our own bees. All except 

 the ignoramuses who suppose that bees make 

 honey, are quite aware that the quality of this 

 product depends on the flowers, and not on 

 the bees. If anything is to be done by way 

 of experiment with apis dorsata, I would sug- 

 gest that " some bee-keeper, not too old, 

 strong, wise, of indomitable energy," and very 

 thick-skinned, should emigrate to the island 

 of Java, carry on an apiary there for a few 

 years, and report progress from time to time 

 to the annual session of this Association. 



How is the bee of the future to be obtained? 

 Prof. Cook says : " Aim to have your queens 

 reproduce themselves in fecundity, and in 

 ability to generate the most vigorous and ener- 

 getic workers, then breed for amiability and 

 beauty." 



I believe, nay, I am sure, that our breeders, 

 if encouraged, can produce bees that will 

 eclipse our best Italians of to-day. I endorse 

 that, " There is only one way in which our 

 bee-breeders can be encouraged, and that is 

 by a willingness to pay good prices for good 

 queens." The dollar queen business, like the 

 use of glucose, must be abandoned. Both 

 queen and honey adulteration belong to the 

 same category. Our veteran authority, Mr. 

 Langstroth, truly says : " We want the best 

 race of bees, or the best cross in the world." 

 I apprehend that bee-stock is ruled by the 

 same laws that govern other stock. 



No breed accidentally discovered in some 

 far-away part of the world has ever been im- 

 ported and adopted just as it was. Certain 

 races that, either by natural selection, or 

 judicious pairing, have developed a high stan- 

 dard of excellence, have been taken as the 

 foundation ; then the best specimens have 

 been chosen and bred from. This is the his- 

 tory of the thoroughbred and other horse 

 tribes ; of Shorthorn and other cattle ; of 

 Merino, Cotswold, Leicester, and Southdown 

 sheep ; the improved breeds of hogs ; and the 

 more valuable varieties of poultry. 



By all means, let us import as we have been 

 doing, only with more care ; breeding only 

 from the choicest and finest specimens. Un- 

 desirable variations and inferior types will 

 occur, but just as other breeders make beef of 

 their poorer cattle, mutton of their worser 

 sheep, pork of their second-rate pigs, and pot- 

 birds of their poultry that do not reach the 



