136 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



cause me so much vexation, trouble, and 

 actual loss, by swarming; or by refusing 

 to work upon some honey-yielding 

 flowers not to their fancy, even when no 

 others are in bloom. 



The kinds of bees we now have are 

 really only so many different varieties, 

 produced by climate conditions and sur- 

 roundings, and, perhaps, to some extent, 

 by the management they have received 

 at the hands of man. There is reason to 

 believe, however, that bees have been less 

 influenced or changed by man than has 

 other animal life that has been long un- 

 der domestication. 



The invention of the movable comb 

 hive threw a flood of light upon the de- 

 velopment of the queen ; and has opened 

 a new era in both the theory and prac- 

 tice of bee-keeping; and the time seems 

 opportune to look the situation over and 

 see if more may not be done to improve 

 our bees than has heretofore been at- 

 tempted. 



Improving present types or varieties of 

 animals, or plants, or producing new ones 

 of greater value than those now known, 

 is one of the most fascinating pjirsuits 

 of man. No wonder Doolittle thinks 

 his business pays as he goes about 

 his queen rearing; although the pe- 

 cuniary value in dollars and cents may 

 not be large. 



In speaking of these improvements in 

 domestic animals and plants, Darwin 

 says; " One of the most remarkable fea- 

 tures in our domestic races is that we see 

 in them adaptation, not indeed to the 

 animal's or plant's own good, but to man's 

 use or fancy "* * * " Breeders habitually 

 speak of an animal's organization as some- 

 thing plastic; which they can model as _ 

 they please ! ' ' 



If we look at the various breeds of 

 domestic pigeons, so unlike in form, 

 plumage and habits, the delicate fantail, 

 with its great development of tail feathers , 

 the elotigated body of the pouter, the 

 strange habits of the tumbler, the great 

 size of the runt, with the great strength 

 and endurance of the carrier, and other 



varieties that I will not stop to mention, 

 we shall find it hard to believe that they 

 all sprang from one couiuioii ancestry; and 

 have been changed to their present fonus 

 by the cunning hand of man, yet natur- 

 alists tell us that such is the case. 



Take our domestic fowls, as another 

 illustration; and see what changes have 

 been made. Some are valued for their 

 great size and gentleness; others for their 

 diminutiveness and gracefulness; some 

 for color, others for their laying qualities, 

 and several for their indisposition to in- 

 cubate — the}- sometimes being called 

 " everlasting layers. " May we not get a 

 hint here ? Does not the desire to incu- 

 bate and lead out into the bright sunny 

 world, in springtime, a brood of chicks, 

 correspond quite closely to the swarming 

 fever in bees? I certainly know that 

 where fowls are kept fpr their eggs alone, 

 and bees for their honey, the desire to in- 

 cubate and the desire to swarm are equal- 

 ly />rcz'C/('/w^. If the desire to incubate 

 has been so nearly bred out of some 

 breeds of fowls, why may we not breed 

 out the disposition in bees to swarm ? I 

 believe it can be done; and with far less 

 labor and time than the desire in fowls to 

 incubate has been eradicated. 



If we compare the ponderous draft 

 horse with the dwarfish breeds adapted 

 to cold climates and sterile soils, or with 

 the nervous race horse, so delicately 

 formed and fleet in his motions, our cre- 

 dulity is taxed to the utmost when we are 

 told that all sprung from a common stock. 

 If we turn and look at the various breeds 

 of cattle we see just as great diversity; 

 some large and some small; some bred 

 for their meat and some for their milk; 

 and some for butter. It would have re- 

 quired more than a half dozen average 

 dairy cows thirty years ago to make as 

 much butter as a single one will make 

 now-a-days; to say nothing of the im- 

 proved quality. I will pass over dogs and 

 swine, as I am not fond of either, and 

 leave the reader to make his own obser- 

 vations; and proceed to speak of sheep; 

 for I was a shepherd in early life. Doubt- 



