The American 



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ENTERED AT TUK POST-OFFICE, WENIIAM, AS SECOND-CLASS MATTKIt. 



Piiblislieil Monthly. Hesrt Alley, Manager. 



VOL. VI. \VP:NHAM, mass., JANUARY i, 1888. 



No. I. 



We denl in first-cl.iss apiari- 1 Established in 1883. Terms ; I Anv yearly PuhRcriher is en- 

 an supplies of ;ill kinils. lowest I $1.00 per yciir, 50 cents per six | titled' to one of our selected 

 prices. Prompt sliipment. | niontlis, -25 cents per tiiree I queens anytime between .Tune! 



Send lor price list. | months. Cash in advance. | and Oct. l', by reniittinjr 50 cts. 



Address all communications, AMERICAN APICULTURIST, Wenham, Mass. 



For the A merican Apiculturist. 



IN-BREEDING. 



Dr. G. L. Tinker. 



Fkom the answers given to query 

 No. oS in the November issue of 

 the Apiculturist, by a. number of 

 our ablest writers, it would seem 

 that I stand almost alone in my 

 views on this subject. However, 

 it is evident that we have much to 

 learn yet; tliat, as Mr. Alley so 

 well states, it is "a question that 

 upsets all hands." That its proper 

 solution will have a vast influence 

 in developing the best bees of the 

 future 1 am fully persuaded, and 

 evervlhing bearing on this topic 

 should 1)6 of interest. 



In developing a new strain of 

 bees 1 have for the past five years 

 devoted special attention to the 

 effects of in-breeding and have 

 studied the matter in all its bear- 

 ings. I have had many queens 

 mated to brother drones of which 

 1 have been certain ; so also I have 

 had queen daughters mated to the 

 parental drones (which latter is 

 the worst possible cross) and in all 

 cases have carefully noted results, 

 and particularly the sul)seqnent 

 crosses in this line. Hence, 1 shall 

 give my views with some degree of 

 confidence in my conclusions. 



In the first place it is plain that 

 the objects sought in breeding a 



1 



superior bee are riot of the same 

 nature as those sought in improving 

 cattle and horses and other farm 

 stock. It is true we may develop 

 larger bees with slight modifica- 

 tions in form and color ; but, after 

 all, the real objects sought are pro- 

 lilicness of queens, vital endurance 

 and energetic working quality of 

 the workers. The subject of pro- 

 lificness, I believe, has not been so 

 great a consideration in develop- 

 ing other farm stock, neither have 

 vital endurance and activity been 

 studied except in breeding the race 

 horse. Here, ever}' point of ad- 

 vantage has been well studied. 

 Still they" are not applicable to the 

 honey bee. We shall hardly be 

 able to study muscular develop- 

 ment in the hone}' bee in connec- 

 tion with form to any great extent 

 as has been done with the race 

 horse. We shall have to base all 

 conclusions largely u|)on the com- 

 parative results noted in colonies 

 and breed accordingly. 



It has been said that so far as 

 results are concerned, the bees of 

 the present day are no better than 

 those of a thousand 3'ears ago. 

 This fact, if it be truly a fact, is 

 rather discouraging, yet every other 

 creature that man has made an ef- 

 fort to improve he has improved, 

 and there is no question but that 

 su))stantial improvement ma}'^ be 

 made in the hone}' bee. It is safe 



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