1304 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



the scientists and the practical breeders. In 

 the American Breeders' Association both 

 groups of men are represented, and the re- 

 sult of such co-operation can not but re- 

 sult in the scientists becoming more practical 

 in their work and the breeders becoming 

 more scientific — results which will work un- 

 told benefit to both classes. Both have done 

 excellent work in the past, and are now 

 independently working on exactly the same 

 problems but with different ends in view. 

 That each class will be able to attack the 

 problems with a wider point of view must re- 

 sult from this co-operation. 



That the principles underlying the breed- 

 ing and improvement of the races of bees 

 are primarily the same as those found in 

 other similar lines, and that there is room 

 for improvement in every race of bees now 

 being raised, are facts almost too evident to 

 need mention. Does it not seem, then, that 

 bee-keepers would do a wise thing in be- 

 coming interested in this movement, and 

 then, applying the results of other lines of 

 work to their work on bees ? 



Somethmg has already been done of thi."* 

 kind on bees. We now have five-banded 

 Italians which, by selection, have been bred 

 from the natural three-banded type originally 

 imported, so that in only a few years this 

 stram has been produced and breeds quite 

 true. Others have bred with the idea of 

 producing bees which do not swarm ; but, 

 while something may have been done, the 

 result is not so easily measured, and we 

 are not able to say just how far this has 

 been successful. Still others have selected 

 for gentleness, and have been successful to 

 some extent. 



The search for bees with long tongues 

 is, it seems to me, slightly different in na- 

 ture. Sports have arisen of queens whose 

 bees had tongues longer than the average, 

 and a feeble effort has been made to per- 

 petuate this trait, but without any great suc- 

 cess. This character is more difficult to 

 select, since the tests of ^advancement are 

 harder to make. 



After all, though, what bee-keepers want 

 is honey, and it may not be out of the 

 way for the breeders of queens to attempt 

 to figure out how much advancement has 

 been made in the past forty-five years with 

 the Italian race. Compare the records of 

 the early importations of Italians with 

 records of colonies bred from American- 

 reared queens and there will be seen com- 

 paratively little advancement. Certainly the 

 average per colony for the entire country is 

 not more than the amounts produced by the 

 earliest-im.ported queens, and there is good 

 reason for thinking that many of our colonies 

 are very inferior to the imported stock. 

 Here is room for scientific selection by the 

 use of the scales. 



It is safe to assume that, if any queen- 

 breeder had figures to prove that, by wise 

 selection, he h^.d produced bees which are 

 superior as honey-producers we should see 



those figures in the advertising columns of 

 the bee-keeping journals; but until we see 

 actual comparative weights we must not 

 be expected to believe any generalized state- 

 ments. When Jersey cows of high grade 

 are for sale, the yearly amount of butter 

 fat produced is given ; but for bees it is 

 not so easy to give figures; but that is just 

 what must be done before we obtain more 

 perfect honey-producing bees by scientific 

 breeding. 



It has seemed to me that the bee-keep- 

 ers interested in the advancement of the 

 races of bees used in this country would do 

 well to join the American Breeders 'Associa- 

 tion, and for that reason i have asked for 

 this much space in this paper, i have no 

 ax to grind, for I am not interested in this 

 organization except as I am interested in the 

 work done, and, needless to say, will receive 

 no commission on new members. I would, 

 however, urge any readers of this article 

 who have any interest in the betterment 

 of honey-production or any other kind of 

 selection on bees to send one dollar to 

 Professor W. A. Hays, American Breed- 

 ers' Association, Washington, D. C, and 

 become a member. By asking for the very 

 valuable volume which has just been is- 

 sued, one dollar makes one a member up to 

 February ist, 1906, and another dollar will 

 be due before the second volume can be had ; 

 but the book is worth more than one dollar, 

 and I would advise that it be requested. 

 The dues for foreign members are two dol- 

 lars, and for life members twenty dollars. 



Bureau of Entomology, Washington, D. C. 



[It is a fact, and not very much to our 

 credit, that bee-keepers have made compara- 

 tively little progress in developing and accen- 

 tuating desirable qualities in our bees. A 

 little effort has been made in breeding for 

 longer tongues, a little more of color, and 

 better honey-gatherers ; but we have not 

 begun to make the progress that Dr. Phillips 

 points out has been made in other kinds 

 of stock. One barrier that stands in our 

 way at present is our inability to control the 

 male parentage of our breeding stock. But 

 this need not necessarily be insurmountable, 

 because there are numerous islands in the 

 lakes that may be used for the purpose of 

 improving and developing certain desirable 

 characteristics. 



The Root Co. has had in mind the leasing 

 of some island — perhaps one in the Gulf of 

 Mexico and one in Lake Erie, small enough 

 in size so there will be no other bees on 

 the island, and far enough from any other 

 land where there would be contamination 

 from other drones. This thing has often been 

 dreamed of and talked of, but very little has 

 ever been done except by D. A. Jones, nearly 

 25 years ago. For some reason he abandoned 

 it before he gave it much of a trial. 



I believe the organization that Dr. Phillips 

 recommends is well worthy of our serious 

 consideration. — Ed.] 



