208 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



[Makch, 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



Italians and Black Bees. 



Mr. Editor, and readers of the Journal. — 

 We read much in the Bee Journal of the superi- 

 ority of the Italian over the black bees. Several 

 bee-keepers having large numbers of swarms of 

 the two kinds in the same apiary, and with the 

 same treatment, have given us the result of the 

 comijarison. With few excei)tions the Italians 

 have done the best, and much the best. This 

 seems to be given for strong, if not full proof, in 

 favor of the Italian variety. With the two 

 kinds, as found in the above apiaries, we con- 

 sider the evidence good, and in favor of the 

 Italians. But how came they better? Is their 

 superiority a natural quality, or is it only an 

 improvement by the art and labor of man? 

 Similar questions to these have been asked be- 

 fore. Please see July No. of Bee Journal, Vol. 

 V I., page 1 7. With the very high appreciation of 

 Italian bees, these questions have stood before 

 the public from July to January, and are still 

 unanswered. Where is Novice, Thomas, Grimm, 

 Adair, Alley, and any number more of our great 

 bee-men? Their silence on this question is 

 strong presumptive evidence that it is simply 

 the improvemmt that has made the Italians 

 superior to our native black bees. Without any 

 superiority on the part of the Italians there 

 would be small sale for the qvieens, and hence the 

 improvement. 



Well, gentlemen, you have done a good deed, 

 so far ; one that has been a benefit to tlie public 

 as well as yourselves. But more, I think, should 

 be done. Now I think it well to try your hand 

 at improving the black bees ; and when you have 

 raised these to as high a pitch as the others, pro- 

 bably a ci-oss between the two kinds would pro- 

 duce a hybrid that would be superior to either 

 kind. 



When the same means have been used to 

 improve the black bees that the Italians have 

 received, then an equal number of swarms of 

 the two kinds, in the same apiary, in the same 

 kind of hives and with the same treatment, will 

 give the true merits of each kind. Without a 

 like improvement all comparisons are vain to 

 show the natural qualifications of the kinds. I 

 give it as my opinion that black bees are not 

 naturally inferior to the Italians. 



ALO^zo Barnard. 



Bangor, Me., Jan. 1871. 



[For the Anerioan Bee Jourual.] 



A Beginner's Experience with Bees. 



Mr. Editor : — I wish to give you some ac- 

 count of my progress in bee-keeping, but being 

 young in years as well as in apiculture, I fear I 

 may not be able to express myself as clearly as 

 some of your older correspondents, though I 

 will endeavor to make myself understood. 



I commenced keeping bees in the spring of 

 1868, with five cohmies of black bees in box 

 hives, transferring them soon after into Lang- 



stroth movable comb hives, which, so far, I con- 

 sider the best in use. I made eleven swarms 

 from them, witliout any stimulaling whatever, 

 and Italianized one half of them the same year. 

 Thus, you see, that we had no notion of keeping 

 bees without having the Italians also. We now 

 had sixteen colonics, which we soon fovind was 

 overdoing the business, as none of them stored 

 honey enough for its winter supply, although 

 the Italians had the most, so that I felt like rais- 

 ing my hat for them. Though the blacks had 

 equal chances with the Italians, they would have 

 starved had we not taken some pains to save 

 them. We bought seventy-five pounds of sugar 

 and gave it to them, which carried them through 

 the winter. 



My bee-house is like that of H. M. Thomas, 

 partly under ground. In the spring of 1869 

 when I took out my bees I found them all in 

 poor condition, and lost three stocks, from vari- 

 ous causes, after setting them out — thus reduc- 

 ing the number to thirteen. Yet, by a little 

 stimulating, moving the frames apart and insert- 

 ing empty combs in the centre, I soon had them 

 very jjopulous, and thought I might double 

 their number. But having learned such a lesson 

 the year before, I concluded to make only five 

 artificial swarms, and make them pay for them- 

 selves. We did so, and obtained one thousand 

 pounds of extracted honey, besides the five 

 swarms, and Italianized all of them. They 

 averaged fifty pounds each in weight. Now, I 

 began to think myself something of a bee-ist. I 

 wintered my stocks in the same house as the 

 year before, and they came through in fine con- 

 dition. 



This season, 1870, has not been very favorable 

 for bees, although I made fifteen swarms, and 

 obtained one thousand pounds of surplus honey. 

 The colonies averaged thirty pounds each, in the 

 fall. Now, Mr. Editor, I clo not want to count 

 the chickens before they are hatched, but think 

 I will take the plan of your correspondent, 

 Novice, next season, who I don't think is quite 

 such a novice as he styles himself. 



My hybrid Italians are superior to my pure 

 stocks in every respect, except their crossness. I 

 have a }3lan in operation for keeping reserved 

 queens, and if it proves to be of value, as I feel 

 confident it will, I will report through the 

 Journal. I intend also writing an article on 

 in and in breeding, not in defiance of Mr. Briggs 

 or any other man, but merely giving my own ex- 

 perience. 



J. N. Walter. 



WincJiester, loica. 



[For the American Bee Journal.] 



A Honey Extractor. 



Mr. Editor : — I have invented and made a 

 honey extractor dift'erent from any that I have 

 seen described in the Journal. I will give a 

 brief description of it ; but will first state that 

 I use hives similar to Mr. Gallup's — the frames 

 being the same as his, eleven inches, inside 

 measure. My exti'actor consists of a couple of 



