AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



269 



CONDUCTED BY 



MRS. JENNIE ATCHLEY, 



Beeville, Texas. 



Are Imported Italian Glueens or Bees 

 a Pure Race ? 



A subscriber asks the question, "Are 

 queens reared in Italy and sent to the 

 United States pure Italians?" I will 

 answer this as best I can. 



First, in one sense of the word I 

 should call any queens pure Italian if 

 they were reared in Italy, no matter 

 what color they were ; but I think our 

 friend was striking at a different thing 

 when he asked the question. Now I am 

 going to make some statements that 

 may be called in question by some of our 

 good bee-keepers. 



It has been mentioned that there were 

 no pure Italian or pure race of bees in 

 Italy. Well, I believe differently, as a 

 number of the best imported queens 

 have been kept three years, away out 

 from other bees, and no mismated 

 queens, and no tendency to run out, but 

 on the contrary they have improved 

 upon themselves, both as to color and 

 honey-gathering qualities. I am of the 

 opinion that a nice, straight 3-banded 

 race of bees from Italy will never run to 

 black bees if kept clear out of the reach 

 of other bees. I know that Italy may 

 have our common black or German bees, 

 and of course they would mix in Italy as 

 well as here; also any other race or 

 strain of bees will mix with the Italians, 

 but I am now satisfied that to get a pure 

 marked strain of bees from Italy — say a 

 queen, or queens whose progeny are all 

 uniformly marked 3-banded Italians — 

 and put them out ten miles from any 

 other bees, and not allow any bees 

 nearer than ten miles, they will remain 

 not less than 3-banded Italians, and if 

 any change takes place in color they 

 will get more yellow all the while. 



Our friend asked another question, as 

 follows: "Are there any bees that 

 come from Italy that are more than 3- 

 banded ?" To this I will say that I 



never saw more than a 3-banded queen, 

 or one whose progeny were more than 

 3-banded, that were direct from Italy ; 

 but more often we get queens from Italy 

 that show only 2-banded bees, unless 

 they are full of honey and bent over, or 

 crawling upon a window. These last 

 are what are usually called the leather- 

 colored bees, and are preferred by some 

 for honey-gathering. But this is just a 

 notion, in my opinion, and got started 

 out that way by some of our good bee- 

 keepers, and still holds good, and of 

 course it will take some time yet to con- 

 vince everybody that they are no better 

 than any good strain of Italian bees. 



Now you know, or some of you at 

 least, that the world has the idea that it 

 is a Bible saying that " God helps those 

 that help themselves;" but I can't find 

 just those words in my Bible, still some 

 may never know but it is true Bible. 

 Now, whenever a thing gets a-going, 

 it is hard to correct it, especially if there 

 is no great wrong in it. as no one cares 

 enough about it, since it may be a good 

 thing to try to stop it, and on it goes. 



Well, this is my belief about the 

 leather-colored or red clover queens, etc. 

 They are no better than other good 

 strains of Italians, and I have tried to 

 see if I could find any difference in dif- 

 ferent kinds of Italian bees, as to honey- 

 gathering, and I must honestly confess 

 that after fair trials, under the same 

 conditions, I find no difference in the 

 honey-gathering qualities of Italian 

 bees, especially of those where care was 

 taken to be fair and impartial, and 

 from queens properly reared. Mind you, 

 I do not mean that no one colony of 

 Italian bees will not gather more honey 

 than another — I mean to take it by api- 

 aries of 100 or more colonies, and aver- 

 age them up. Some bees are lazy, and a 

 decided difference can be noticed be- 

 tween two colonies ; and bees are much 

 like other stock, good and bad in all 

 apiaries. But, in conclusion, I will say 

 I have found no one strain of Ital- 

 ians better for honey than another. 



Golden Bees and Honey Resources of 

 Arkansas. 



As there has been so much in print, of 

 late, about golden bees and queens, I 

 will write my experience with the golden 

 Italians. I have been rearing those 

 beautiful bees for three years, and as 

 for honey-gatherers I have tested them 

 with the 3-banded, and I find them to 

 be superior for honey-gathering in this 



