235 



perceived during the tempi nary removal 

 from the hive and be discovered after- 

 wards. I need not therefore enter into 

 further particulars to show how im- 

 portant it is to know with certainty 

 which hive she belongs to. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Feeding Honey to Store in Boxes, Etc. 



GEORGE THOMPSON. 



In the February number, page 77, 

 there is an excellent article by G. M. 

 Doolittleon "Feeding Extracted Honey 

 to be stored in Boxes/' I have been 

 experimenting in this direction for the 

 last two or three years, and I must also 

 say that I have to feed a great amount of 

 honey to get a little stored in boxes. 



My plan, however, has been a little 

 different from his. I feed below in- 

 stead of above, my hives having all 

 tight bottoms. I pour in about dusk 

 2 or 3 pounds, and it is usually all car- 

 ried up by morning, so this does not 

 prevent them from working when there 

 is anything to gather. I had all my 

 unfinished sections nicely filled and 

 capped in this way last fall. 



I have, however, come to the conclu- 

 sion that it will not pay to put on empty 

 boxes and feed to get them filled and 

 capped over. 



I would ask G. M. D. to lend me his 

 ear ; it may be that we can do some- 

 thing in this direction yet. You know 

 we live in a "progressive age." By a 

 careful and judicious selection of our 

 best box-workers, can we not produce 

 a strain of bees that will carry every- 

 thing in the form of liquid sweets up 

 into the boxes ? — regular elevators, you 

 know ! 



What a bee " the coming bee "is to 

 be. Little or no sting, remarkably gen- 

 tle, the swarming propensity worked 

 out, rapid multipliers, the * tongue 

 greatly lengthened, the working quali- 

 ties greatly increased, the elevating in- 

 stinct marvelously improved, and, presto, 

 " Apis Americana.'''' 



I was sorry that Mr. Ileddon in the 

 March Journal discouraged the im- 

 portation of the Cyprian bee. The lat- 

 ter part of his article spoiled all the 

 rest. I wonder why he said: "I will 

 pay no high price for any new bee," 

 and at the same time acquiesce in what 

 Mr. Langstroth wrote : "• Crosses, I 

 think, will prove the point in the com- 

 ing bee." I would ask him if the Ital- 

 ian bee in America has been brought 

 to its present state of perfection by 

 " crosses " or by careful selection V lie 

 says : " I prefer to go slow." That is the 

 way of some folks till they are driven 



out of the market; or. after two or 

 three years, into the traces by their 

 more enterprising and lucky neighbors. 



My bees came out of the cellar in 

 splendid condition, but I am a little 

 fearful they will be considerably re- 

 duced before warm, settled weather 

 comes, for breeding ceased very early 

 last fall. They gathered nothing after 

 the basswood harvest. 



Geneva, Kane County, 111. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



To what extent can Bees be Improved ? 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



In the March number I said something 

 in regard to the best way of rearing 

 queens, as I considered it, but said very 

 little about the selection of stock from 

 which to rear said queens. There prob- 

 ably is not an apiary in the United 

 States, containing 20 colonies, but what 

 the owner thereof is compelled to ac- 

 knowledge that certain colonies do bet- 

 ter than others nearly every year in 

 producing honey, as we often hear it 

 remarked, if the whole apiary could have 

 done as well as such a colony, I should 

 have had a big yield. Some contend 

 that the hive and strength of colony has 

 all to do with it, but I am inclined to 

 think that the race, of bees lias the 

 greater influence over these things, and 

 that certain traits of character exist in 

 certain colonies of bees that do not in 

 others. If this is so. there is a chance 

 for improvement in our bees, and I am 

 inclined to think that it will be more to 

 our credit in the future to strive to im- 

 prove on the bees which we have, rather 

 than to keep importing stock. Bui how 

 can we accomplish this improvement '. J 

 I know of but one way at present for 

 the majority of us to accomplish this, 

 and that is through the queen. A tew 

 cases have been reported, where the 

 drones have been brought into subjec- 

 tion, so that an improvement could be 

 made by a selection of drones, but a 

 majority of those who have tried fer- 

 tilization in confinement have only made 

 a failure of it. Thus, we have only the 

 queen to aid us in the improvement 

 as a certainty. Well, such being the 

 case, how shall we proceed? 1 do not 

 know that I can give my views better 

 than to relate some of my experience. 



About seven years ago I began fcoturn 

 myattention to this matter, and adopted 

 the following plan : At the close of the 

 honey season I struck an ayerage ol the 

 number of pounds of surplus honey 

 produced by the whole apiary, and then 

 all colonies which did not come up to 



