1871.] 



THE AMEEICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



51 



Now -we might cross two of the races, ai)d by 

 careful breeding originate a third race ; though 

 this wovild require long care and patience, which 

 Vogel has shown to be the method by which the 

 Ita,lians were produced. This makes the race 

 none the less valuable ; for if, by crossing the 

 Egyptians and black bees, and then by careful 

 selection in breeding fit)m the ofl'spring, w^e 

 originate a third race, superior to either of the 

 others, and which will keep better only as the 

 result of careful breeding, surely we have im- 

 proved our art by the introduction of a superior 

 and distinct race. He who should object to 

 Italians on this ground, should i-est satisfied 

 with cattle of the lank, ill-fonned native breeds. 



This truth, that the Italians are the result of 

 crossing the black bees with the Egyptians, 

 does not interfere with their being a distinct 

 race. This they become as soon as they will 

 invariably reproduce th^ir kind ; and this truth 

 will make us all the more careful in procuring 

 queens from the best breeders, and will make 

 us take every ijrecaution to insure pure fertil- 

 ization in our own apiaries. 



Again, as we become able to control fertiliza- 

 tion, so as to select any males with the care that 

 we do tlie queens, we may each develop varieties 

 of Italians, as to color, temperament, vigor or 

 industry, or perhaps all ; and thus improve even 

 the Italian race. 



Mr. Editor, I am experimenting, and will soon 

 write you on the drone question and fertilizing. 

 Bees are doing finely this summer. We expect 

 to have a grand time at the next meeting of our 

 association, which meets at Kalamazoo, at the 

 time of the State fair. I will send notice to the 

 Journal in time. 



A. J. Cook. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Breeding in-and-in. 



Some people think that because a good many 

 inmates of an insane asylum are the offspring of 

 blood relations, then all intermarriage of blood 

 relations is most pernicious. Now it may be 

 that a ditterent rule governs in the human 

 family in this respect, from that which obtains 

 in the rest of animated nature, as shown by 

 physiological facts. Or it may result from the 

 fact that the "genus homo " has so deteriorated 

 in domestication, that there is no mortal left 

 without taint of some disease or other. It is 

 certain that nature does not guard much against 

 the mating of kin relations. For instance the 

 buffalo of the plains mates with his own pro- 

 geny, so long as by his strength he is the 

 superior of the herd, say six or seven years — 

 then mating room perhaps for his immediate 

 descendant. The same is true of the deer of the 

 forest. A flock of quails also consists usually 

 of about equal numbers of males and females. 

 They stay together during winter, and in the 

 spring separate in couples of the same brood. 

 The Jersey cows come from a small island, 

 where this stock has bred in-and-in for centuries ; 

 yet for beauty of form and richness of milk, they 



are the foremost cattle on the globe. Virgil 

 sang of the Italian bees nearly two thousand 

 years ago ; and as the area where they are found 

 is very limited, how much must they have bred 

 in-and-in? When a hive swarms the emigrants 

 go to the next hollow tree, perhaps only a few 

 rods from tlie old one ; and as queens and drones 

 fly together many miles aj^art, who can calculate 

 where internii.xing ce.ases? 



I think richness and abundance of food pro- 

 duce fine creatures. The sheep of my native 

 home (Westphalia), living chiefly on heather, 

 are small in size, and produce wool as coarse as 

 dog's hail'. In Frieslaud, adjoining it (which is 

 a fertile country), the sheep are of large size 

 and have the best of wool. Both kinds no doubt 

 came originally from Noah's pair, and the 

 quality of food made all the difference, inde- 

 pendent of intermixing. 



Queen bees raised when food is abundant are 

 said to be handsomer than those raised when 

 food is scarce. Some writers in the Journal 

 think the queens fly out to prevent breeding in- 

 and-in. More likely nature makes them fly to 

 prevent a weak or wingless queen from mating 

 with a feeble or crippled di'one. 



I never had any fiiith in breeding in confine- 

 ment. I think nature has vetoed it. Putting 

 up a musquito bar around the hive, might en- 

 able those to succeed who are anxious about it. 



Some bee-keepers think that clij^ping the 

 queen's wings deteriorates the stock. I do not 

 see why it should. Breeding queens in nuclei, 

 ovitof season, I sliould think more likely to have 

 such a tendency. 



T. HULMAN. 



Terre Haute, Iiid., August 1, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Novice. 



Dear Bee Journal : — Honey ceased to be 

 brought in, in this locality, about July 13th ; 

 and up to this date (August yth, ) our index 

 hive has not shown an increase of one pound. 

 Tlie bees are flying briskly, and at work, but the 

 honey gathered is not equal to the amount con- 

 sumed, by about two ounces per day on an aver- 

 age. 



Of course many say that their bees are work- 

 ing finely and gathering honey right along, be- 

 cause they see them at work ; but we have learned 

 to regard this as very poor evidence. 



We are watching the dial of the scales anxiously 

 to see when the fall crop commences, as we have 

 faith it will, although we have made our calcu- 

 lation from sore past experience, not to be caught 

 short this season, any way. So we have most 

 of our hives with sealed combs of honey in the 

 upper stories, as a reserve force, to assist any 

 stocks that are short. 



The advantage of combs of sealed honey for 

 fall feeding has, in our opinion, never been half 

 appreciated ; and we are determined for the 

 future to keep a surplus cash capital, or some- 

 thing better than cash even, when stocks are to 

 be strengthened up, of sealed combs of honey the 



