1894 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



93 



gathered together all the experiences of the 

 past, bearing on the (luestion. While I have 

 given in a previous number boinc reasons for 

 believing in inheritance from nurse-bees, I must 

 confess that all my observations of the past 

 from actual experience, that I now have in 

 mind, point in the other direction. In several 

 instances I have kilh^d the queen of a colony 

 because the bees were very cross. In each case 

 there was a decided improvement in the temper 

 of the bees. Not only was the difference ap- 

 parent as soon as the workers of the old queen 

 had died off, but in at least two cases the differ- 

 ence for the better was decidedly recognizable 

 before the time when these had had time to die 

 otf. Does that mean that the cross bees are con- 

 fined to those tliat are less than a month old. or 

 does it mean that the presence of the qmen 

 herself has some direct influence on the dispo- 

 sition of the workers? I think it is quite gen- 

 erally agreed that bees are crosser when queen - 

 less. Putting it in another shape, they are not 

 so cross when they have a queen. Now, if the 

 presence of a queen makes a difference in their 

 tempers, is it not possible that the presence of 

 one qneen may produce an effect different from 

 that of another? However, it is possible that, 

 in the two cases of which I speak, some other 

 cause, independently of the queen, may have 

 been at work, thus making a difference in the 

 temper of the bees. 

 Marengo, III. 



HEREDITY IN BEES. 



<HARACTEKISTICS COME ONLY FROM PARENTS. 



By Rev. L. J. Templin. 



By heredity is meant that influence that pa- 

 rents or other ancestors exert in determining 

 the qualities or traits of their offspring. That 

 such a power exists was well known to the an- 

 cients; but the extent and importance of the 

 law of heredity are but now coming to be un- 

 derstood and appreciated. Any one who at- 

 tempts any reformation or improvement in man- 

 kind or tlie lower animals, or even in the veget- 

 able kingdom, without taking into account the 

 law of lieredity, will soon find himself hopeless- 

 ly groping in the dark. In considering the 

 forces or influences that determine the charac- 

 teristics of off'spring. several different laws, 

 partly modifying and partly complementary, 

 must be considered. The first to claim our no- 

 tice is — 



THE LAW Op- SIMILARITY. 



"Like begets like"' is the universal rule 

 among all organic beings. The child, in all es- 

 sential qualities, resembles the parents; the off'- 

 spring is a duplicate of the immediate progeni- 

 tors. We know of no exception to this law, ex- 

 cept in the case of monstrosities. If it were 

 not so. no reliance could be put in the course of 

 nature. A mare might bring forth a calf, or a 



ewe might give birth to a litter of puppies. 

 The offspring partakes of the traits of both 

 parents, and. as a necessary consequence, must 

 differ more or less from both. There seems to 

 be no rule by which to determine the degree to 

 which each parent contributes to the character- 

 istics of the progeny. In some cases the young 

 has a closer resemblance of the father, and in 

 other instances the likeness of the mother is 

 more striking; while in still other examples 

 there is such a blending of the traits of both 

 parents that neither one predominates. And it 

 is possible that, in an occasional instance, there 

 may be no apparent likeness of either. Much 

 has been written on the question as to the de- 

 gree and Tnanner in which each parent contrib- 

 utes to the make-up of the progeny. But it is 

 doubtful whether there is any law governing 

 the case, except that the one of the purest 

 blood and greatest vigor at the time of copula- 

 tion will generally impress its peculiar traits 

 most strongly on the offspring. The above law 

 is modified, within certain limits, by 



THE I,AW OF VARIATION. 



All organic beings have a tendency to vary 

 from the exact likeness of the parent in a great 

 many small and unimportant particulars, but 

 always within specific limits. It is under the 

 operation of this law that we expect the im- 

 provement of our stock by selection and careful 

 breeding. Another method is by crossing dif- 

 fei'ent breeds or strains, or by hybridizing dif- 

 ferent species. These variations, doubtless, 

 arise from well-established though often occult 

 and unknown laws. Some of these causes are 

 known, at least in part. Probably the most po- 

 tent of these in determining the character of a 

 new being is 



THE L.\W OF ATAVISM, 



or, as it is often termed, of reversion. It is a 

 fact of frequent occurrence, that, in raising im- 

 proved races in either the animal or vegetable 

 kingdom, undesirable qualities, that were sup- 

 posed to have been long since "bred out,"' are 

 found cropping out, to the disappointment and 

 loss of the breeder. Thus a black or brown) 

 sheep occasionally appears, to remind us that 

 the white race of sheep originally sprang from 

 a black race. Many of the so-called freaks of 

 nature are only reversions to the original type. 

 This fact requires the utmost care and diligence 

 in '• weeding out " every specimen that does not 

 come up to the desired standard, by the breeder 

 who wishes to improve his stock. It is not 

 enough that an animal be full - blooded, and 

 possess the characteristics of the breed of which 

 it is a represcuitative, but it should possess them 

 in an eminent degree to make it a desirable 

 breeder. 



Another thing not to be overlooked is the 

 well-known fact that surrounding objects and 

 influences, especially if of a startling charac- 

 ter, often operate through the mental and nerv- 

 ous system of the mother, to impress on the em- 



