272 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[June, 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



" Improved Breeds of Bees." 



REPLY TO D. L. ADAIK. 



Mr. Editor : — Will y< u permit a young head 

 to answer an old bee-keeper in the columns of 

 your journal. 



Under the above heading (A B. J. p. 242), 

 Mr. A. gives us his ideas on the improvement 

 of the honey bee. I will agree with him in 

 saying that bees can be improved. But if we 

 are going to try to improve our bees, should we 

 not begin with the best breed that we now have? 

 And what is the best breed ? Mr. A. will give 

 the answer : " The superiority of the Italian bee 

 over the common bee of the country is now 

 generally admitted by all who have tried them." 

 (Progressive Bee-culture, p. 20, 1872.) I suppose 

 that the above is sufficient authority for Mr. A., 

 without referring to other writings on the 

 subject. 



It is true that Mr. A. " attempted to show 

 that we cannot improve our bees by further 

 indiscriminate (?) importations," but if the 

 Italian bees are superior to the common bees 

 why should we stop importing them? 



Mr. A. says: "The bees of the Parsons im- 

 portation were the best I have had, although I 

 have had bees from nearly -every importation that 

 has been made." This is not quite exact, for 

 Mr. A. never had a single queen from the 

 numerous Dadant importations. I know also 

 of several importers who never received an order 

 from him. 



Is the Italian breed of bees superior to the 

 black? Mr. Adair, and ninety-nine hundredths 

 of the bee-keepers answer : Yes. Then, in the 

 name of common sense, why not breed from 

 them if we intend to improve our bees ? What 

 would you think of a farmer who in trying to 

 start a new race of hogs would begin with the 

 lean, long-nosed race fifty of years ago. Before 

 improving our races of bees artificially, let us 

 first get the race that has been best improved 

 naturally, and improve it further. 



The first desirable improvement that Mr. A. 

 speaks of is "the fecundity of the queen." Let 

 me here correct an error. Mr. A. says that the 

 ovaries of a queen contain five hundred thousand 

 eggs. " Berlepsch had a queen that laid 

 thirteen hundred thousand eggs in four years." 

 (Les Abeilles, p. 42.) Von [Siebold supposes 

 that the number of eggs contained in the 

 ovaries is not less than three million. Leuckart 

 Bays: " If we compare the capacity of the sper- 

 matheca with the size of a spermatozoa, we 

 find that it can contain twenty five million of 

 the latter." We should therefore try to increase 

 the fecundity of our queens by giving them a 

 good chance to lay as much as possible. But 

 remember that we must start with the best breeds 

 and that the Italians " are more prolific than 

 black queens," {Adair's annul of Bee-culture, p. 

 31, 1869.) 



The second desirable improvement " is quiet- 

 ness." Which breed is the most quiet, Italians, 

 Blacks, or Hybrids? Mr. A. acknowledges that 

 the Italians " stick themselves tenaciously to the 

 sheets of honey and brood," but he calls that 

 "cowardice." In the same number (p. 254.) Mr. 

 Quinby says : " The black bees, as soon as the 

 first impulse is over, run away and try to hide." 

 If the act of sticking to the combs is called 

 cowardice, by what name shall we call the action 

 of the black bees that run away to the other 

 end of the hive as soon as one end is opened? 

 Is it not true that a frame can be lifted from a 

 pure Italian stock with queen and bees on it, 

 and carried away into the house amongst a party 

 of people without the loss of a single bee, and 

 without danger of stings? Is it not true also 

 that when a frame is lifted from the stock of 

 black bees, with or without the queen, nearly 

 all the bees on it either fly away or fall to the 

 ground, crawling up in the pantaloons of the 

 operator? Indeed, the black bees are easier to 

 drum out than the Italians, but does not Mr. A. 

 know that with our improved hives, (not his,} 

 we never need to recur to this troublesome 

 practice ? As to brushing them from the frames 

 in using the Melipult, (Melibole, Krusckla, 

 smelatore, melextrator, honey extractor, honey 

 slinger, honey emptying machine,) we will 

 simply ask "Novice" what breed of bees he 

 prefers for this purpose. "Novice" is not in- 

 terested in the sale of Italian bees, and besides 

 we are certain that he has more experience in 

 this matter than Mr. A., probably because his 

 frames are easier to handle than those of Mr. A. 



Third improvement The destruction of the 

 bee sting. I am one of those who believe in the 

 possibility of this improvement, but let me 

 inform my readers that Mr. Adair is not the 

 inventor of this new idea. It was first put for- 

 ward in August, 1856, in Lami des sciences, 

 (Paris,) and also in L 'apiculieur 1856, '57, '60, 

 by Mr. Ch. Leblon, under the name of Demu- 

 cronage, (Lat. mucro point, sting). Later, Mr. 

 A. has probable read about it in the Journal 

 des Fermes, p. 281, (A. Buzairies, p. 401 ; Ch. 

 Dadant, p. 421 ; Ch. Leblon, 1870.) The De- 

 mucronage will certainly take place sooner or 

 later, if man desires it, but until we got stingless 

 bees is it not best to keep none but the gentlest, 

 and are not the " Italians more peacable than 

 the blacks " ? (Adair s Annuals of Bee culture, p. 

 31, 1869.) 



Fourth improvement. " The suppression of 

 the swarming instinct." I will agree again with 

 Mr. A. in saying that this would be an improve- 

 ment, although I have to differ from him when 

 he says that swarming is the result of the 

 "abnormal conditions." In a state of nature, 

 swarming is the only way in which bees can 

 reproduce and increase their race, and what is 

 there more natural and normal than the laws 

 that govern reproduction and increase? 



Fifth improvement. Association of several 



