1871.] 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



131 



And if we had no race of bees superior to our 

 native blacks, which we certainly have in the 

 Italian race, it would pay to give attention to 

 their improvement. For this purpose we must 

 select'our very best stock to breed from, reject- 

 ing all that show inferior qualities. In a few 

 yeai's, by this process, our native bees could, un- 

 doubtedly, be made far superior to what they 

 now are. But it is wise to begin with the best. 

 The Italian bees are, in nearly all respects, su- 

 perior to the natives, and inferior to them in 

 nothing ; and with the greater tendency to vary 

 from the ancestral type, they present the most 

 promising lield for ettbrts at improvement. In 

 order to make imin-ovement, the beekeeper must 

 familiarize himself with the special qnaliries of 

 the several stocks in his apiary, and constantly 

 select the best from which to raise queens. If 

 we could choose tlie fathers of our bees, as well 

 as their mothers, improvement might be more 

 rapid ; but, I have come to the conclusion that 

 fertilization iu confineraent is impracticable. It 

 may be aecomplislied now and then ; but the 

 failures will be so many, that it v/ill not pay to 

 attempt it. Mo.st of the reported cases have 

 been, in my judgment, failures. Queens and 

 workers are 50 nearly of the same thickness, that 

 IK) reliance can be placed on so arranging the 

 place of entrance and exit, that the workers can 

 pass and the queen cannot. Let a wing of the 

 young queen be cliijped, and then if she becomes 

 fertile, we will know that she did not fly abroad 

 and meet a drone in the air. 



As far as my observation has extended, there 

 seems to be no hope of improving our bees, by 

 crossing the Italian and native races. The pro- 

 geny of a pure Italian and a lilack drone are 

 nearly as good as pure Italians ; but any further 

 cross is altoo ether undesirable, unless it be a 

 furtlier infusion of Italian blood. I have quite 

 as many bees of mixed blood as I want. I have 

 destroyed all queens that will not ])roduce pure 

 Italian drones, and will be careful not to have 

 any more of that kind. M. Mahin. 



Hew Castle, Ltd., Oct. 31, 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



A Bee Orcliard. 



Mk. Editor : — I am sorry indeed to see. our 

 friend Novice suffering from paralysis. Nobody's 

 contributions would be more sorrowfully missed. 

 May his sickness be of short duration. 



The following would be my plan in planting a 

 linden orchard. I would buy the quantity of 

 trees needed from a seller who takes them from 

 the woods when about an inch in diameter, with 

 good roots ; and set them al)out twenty-five feet 

 apart. If I could not do this, I would contract 

 for the quantity wanted with a nursery man, to 

 be sprouted from slips or cuttings, in a hot house 

 during winter, to be set out in the spring. 



Linden is a soft wood, and will readily grow 

 from slips. This will save a great amount of 

 care and labor, indispensable when raised from 

 seed. I have planted trees (linden) taken from 

 the woods, v.'hich lived and did weil, when 



dogwood and rock maple died. I have also a 

 European linden tree, which though a handsome 

 shaped tree, does not grow near as fast as its 

 American sister {Tilia Americana). When iu 

 Germany a few years ago I saw a linden tree, 

 two hundred yeai-s old, as large as an American 

 sycamore. How I wished that I had a few 

 dozen of them in the new fatherland. 



Setting the lindens at twenty-five feet a part, 

 I would set the German willows (Saalweide) at 

 twelve feet. They also grow from cut lings, in 

 wet ground. I think I saw some in Mr. Lang- 

 stroth's yard. I also have two of them. English- 

 men call them palm trees. They are very orna- 

 mental, and furnish the earliest pollen in the 

 spring. Dzierzon recommends them highly. 



Lastly I would fence in the whole with the 

 Japanese quince. They are strong, and can be 

 early trained to turn stock. With their scarlet 

 blossoms they present a most beautiful appear- 

 ance in the spring, and also furnish early food 

 for the bees. Nurserymen would supply them 

 at reasonably cheap rates, or contract by the 

 quantity. They are to be grown from slips also, 

 in hot beds. 



Linden trees prefer low good ground. 1 would 

 drain, subsoil, plough deep, dig the holes 

 four feet cubic, and fill with rich ground, but no 

 fresh manure. 



One nurseryman of our town offered to sprout 

 quince for me last year, when I intended to buy 

 some, but did not get ready. 



I repeat my best wishes for Novice. 



P. HUI.I.MAN. 



Terre Haute, lud., 1871. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



The Melextractor. 



Mr. Editor : — I receive many inquiries as to 

 my opinion of the benefits to be derived from the 

 use of the melextractor. The questions are 

 something like the following : When is it proper 

 to commence its use ? Is it best to operate in 

 or outside of an enclosure? How are we to get 

 the bees oft" the combs, when we wish to extract 

 the honey from them ? Will the unsealed brood 

 be thrown out with the honey? And whose ex- 

 tractor is best ? 



As to the benefits to be derived from its use, 

 I will state that had I not used it during the 

 past season, my honey yield would have been 

 almost an entire failure. My bees seemed de- 

 termined to store honey nowhere exce]3t in the 

 breeding chamber. So much was that the case, 

 that in several instances they almost crowded 

 their queens out of space in which to lay eggs, 

 before I could reach them with the extractor. 

 Yet in very few instances was there any dis- 

 position manifested to enter the surplus boxes, 

 whether situated on the top of the hive, or at the 

 side. This was the case even where I had 

 furnished them boxes with combs, as an induce- 

 ment for them to enter them. My apiary was 

 mostly used for queen-breeding, so that I had no 

 fair means of determining the amount of honey 

 I might have procured, and I devoted my bees 



