Apis Americana—the Coining Bee. 



No matter whether we anxiously 

 watch for "the next progressive step" 

 or earnestly desire to discover " the 

 Bee of the Future "—the u finger of 

 destiny" points directly to apis Ameri- 

 cana as the bee that will " fill the bill" 

 of all our expectations. On our late visit 

 to Europe, we took some small bottles 

 containing drones and workers from the 

 apiary of the Bee Journal— not to 

 " astonish the natives," nor to arouse 

 the jealousy of those of foreign climes 

 — but to get a frank and free expression 

 of opinion concerning them from some 

 of the best apiarist of the world. We 

 accordingly exhibited them in England 

 and Scotland, and with one accord they 

 were pronounced by the principal apiar- 

 ists there as the most beautiful they 

 had ever seen. 



We exhibited them to Mons. Dennler, 

 editor of the Alsatian Bienen Zuechter ; 

 to Mons. Ed. Bertrand, editor of the 

 Bulletin D'Apiculteur, of Switzerland. 

 Both of these gentlemen were delighted 

 with them, and said they had never seen 

 their equal. 



At Bologna, Italy, we submitted the 

 bees to Signor Pietro Pilati and Signor 

 Lucio Paglia, two extensive breeders of 

 Italian bees for importing to America, 

 England, Germany, &c, and both were 

 enthusiastic in their praise. 



At Milan, Italy, we exhibited them to 

 Count Gaetano Barbo, President of the 

 " Central Societie d'Apicoltore," and 

 Count Alfonso Visconti de Saliceto, 

 editor of L'Apicoltore, the Italian bee 

 paper, and they expressed their admira- 

 tion of them. Since we were there, 

 however, the number of V Apicoltnre 

 for October has been received at this 

 office and we quote as follows : 



We have had a visit from Signor Newman, editor 

 of the American Bee Jotrnal, and President of 

 the North American Bee-Keepers' Society, who has 

 been especially invited to attend the Austro-Ger- 

 man Congress at Prague, Sept. 7-11, 187!). He is a 

 man full of sympathy, of medium height, about 40, 

 and always cheerful and happy. He has visited the 

 editors of the British Bee Journal, of London and 

 the L'Apicullenr, of Paris. He had also visited 

 Venice, Rome and Florence, reserving Milan for the 

 last visit in Italy, with the intention of becoming 



personally acquainted with the representatives of 

 our Society of Bee-Culture. From Milan he went to 

 visit Signor Gatter, President of the Apiarian So- 

 ciety at Vienna. 



Signor Newman exhibited to us some samples of 

 American-bred Italian bees obtained by constant 

 selection of the best to breed from. They were 

 workers and drones the most beautiful we have ever 

 seen. Their color was of a splendid light yellow ; 

 the rings of the abdomen were also yellow, with the 

 exception of the last, which was blackish, yet the 

 sides were yellow. On the corslet, near the junction 

 of the abdomen, they were of purer yellow than we 

 had ever seen on any other bees. 



The method employed to obtain such splendid 

 progeny, Signor Newman said, consisted in the 

 selection of the choicest of the best colonies of 

 bees— taking them to a locality where there was no 

 danger of other bees to interfere, and then to breed 

 drones and queens. It is in substance, as we have 

 stated it. Careful selection is the method employed 

 to obtain such eminent results in the animal and 

 vegetable world. We are glad to see similar means 

 used by bee-keepers to obtain an improvement in 

 the race of bees. Of course amelioration could be 

 easily procured here. Since bee-keepers so far 

 from us obtain such results by changing the queen, 

 we confidently recommend such a practice here, in 

 the conviction that in time the apiarists would be 

 proud of having followed a method, which costs 

 only a very little experience or at least, a little time 

 and care, and would prevent them from seeing a 

 foreigner howing the prettiest of Italian bees. 



At Vienna, Austria, we showed the 

 same bees to Heir Karl Gatter, editor 

 of the Austrian bee paper, and to Mr. 

 Edward Droy,late editor of the French 

 bee paper U Apiculture in Bordeaux, and 

 both of these gentlemanly critics pro- 

 nounced them very superior. 



When at the Austro-German Con- 

 gress of Bee-Keepers, at Prague, Bo- 

 hemia, we took occasion to show these 

 American bred Italians to many of the 

 most noted apiarists of both Germany 

 and Austria, and without exception 

 they were pronounced the most beauti- 

 ful bees they had ever examined. 

 Among them we may mention the Rev. 

 Dr. Dzierzon, the Countess, the widow 

 of the late Baron of Berlepsch, the 

 Hon. Augustus Schmidt, editor of the 

 Bienen-Zeitung, Herr Ernie! Hilbert, 

 Herr Vogel and many others, whose 

 names are " household words " through- 

 out the apicultural world. 



At the various Conventions in our 

 country, such questions as the following 

 are coming up for discussion : " Can 

 Americans breed the best bees ? "Will 

 the coming bee have to be imported V" 



