290 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



mile distant. I am pretty sure tliat 

 tlie 3'oimg queens would mate witli 

 a brotlier drone. Well, now suppose 

 tins one colony increases to one 

 hundred colonies, nine out of every 

 ten of the young queens reared in 

 that apiary will be fertilized by 

 drones in the same yard even 

 though tliere are other drones with- 

 in one mile of the same apiary. I 

 do not believe a queen goes twenty 

 rods Irom the hive when she takes 

 her mating flight. Consequently, 

 if there are thousands of drones in 

 the same yartl with the queens, 

 they will meet a drone in the 

 same apiar3\ 



Under such circumstances, in- 

 breeding will go on lor years. But 

 do the bees deteriorate b}' such 

 close mating? This is a question 

 that but few people can answer. I 

 have known large apiaries, that is, 

 say titty colonies, to be built up 

 from one colony when there were 

 no other bees near, yet could not 

 see that the health of the bees suf- 

 fered by such a long process of in- 

 breeding. 1 consider it just as much 

 breeiling-in when there are lifty 

 colonies in the yard (that is, if all 

 the bees come from one colony), as 

 when there is but one colony. It is 

 all the same family. Yet there is 

 a possibility that one out of fifty 

 young queens might meet a strange 

 drone from some wild colony or a 

 drone from a distant apiary. Such 

 mating would upset in-and-in 

 breeding for a time at least. 



ANSWER BY J. E. POND. 



In this matter Mr. Wagner is 

 mistaken else I am not vei'sed in 

 the rules of breeding. In-and in 

 breeding is, as 1 understand it, 

 made use of to a large extent for 

 the purpose of fixing essential 

 points that fancy or otherwise may 

 call for. It nuist not be carried 

 too far but when used judiciously it 

 is of great value. 



Now with bees : in theory it is de- 

 cided that in-and-in breeding should 

 be allowed ; in practice there is no 

 way to prevent it, and I have yet 

 to learn of any ill results that fol- 

 low therefrom. It is well settled 

 that in the human race, near rela- 

 tives should not intermarry, as it 

 is claimed that mental or physical 

 deformities will surely follow. 



1 have known of a single colony 

 being kept far from the tlight range 

 of an}' other known bees, and in- 

 crease from the same original stock 

 "up to thirty or more colonies, and 

 did not see that the last colonies 

 were worse than the original stock. 

 The idea of close breeding is more 

 a.business scare on the part of some 

 queen breeders, than of any real 

 injur}'. Then again there is no 

 certainty that the fertilization will 

 come from a brother drone. The 

 question opens up a big field, and 

 to answer it as it deserves calls for 

 far more space than can be given in 

 this depaitment. If Mr. W. desires 

 information on the whole subject 

 he should get some good work on 

 "■ comparative anatomy," and there 

 he will find the subject fully treated. 

 There are also several works on the 

 subject of breeding horses and cat- 

 tle that will give some light, and 

 prove mighty interesting reading. 



The subject is very little under- 

 stood by the majority, as only those 

 study it up who are interested in 

 building up their stocks. 



The American Apiculturist havhig 

 iuvitcd essays on this Subject from 

 several of the most experienced apia- 

 rists in Americii, publish iu their last 

 issue several ol" these papers. These 

 are so pnictical, useful and suggestive, 

 that we intend giving pretty full ab- 

 stracts of them in our coluiiiiis of suc- 

 ceeding numbers for the benefit of such 

 of our readers as are working, or in- 

 tend to work for comb houey. — Aus- 

 tralian Bee Juurual. 



