THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



109 



tiful storage of honey. In spite of 

 this we have no hesitancy in saying 

 honey has never sold at as low a fig- 

 ure as this winter. Extracted honey 

 has been sold and can be had in 

 large quantities at 8c. per lb. 



If the coming season gives us a 

 plentiful yield of honey there are but 

 two courses open to us : quit the bus- 

 iness or brace up, display the energy 

 required to succeed in other business, 

 and open out our home and foreign 

 market. It will be a case of the sur- 

 vival of the most energetic, those 

 most favorably located, in short those 

 able to produce it at lowest price and 

 Moaking the greatest effort to open 

 out the markets. 



Brantfoni, Canada. 



For the American Apiculturist. 



IS YRIO-ITALIAN 

 CROSSES. 



By Dr. G. L. Tinkek. 



In crossing the races of bees, 

 what proves to be the general re- 

 sult finds many exceptions in in- 

 dividual cases. The exceptions are 

 probably due to prepotency in the 

 male or female as the case may be, 

 which variation from the rule is 

 noted in all species of animals. 



First crosses between any of the 

 distinct races of bees produces 

 vigorous stock and in none is there 

 shown greater vigor than in those 

 between Syrians and Italians. 

 Proverbially, the Italio-German 

 hybrid is good working stock but 

 spirited and ugl}^ to handle without 

 the use of tobacco smoke. The 

 same may be said of Syrian queens 

 crossed with Italian drones, or the 

 Syrio-Italians : but Italian queens 

 crossed with Syrian drones, or the 

 Italio Syrians, are not only ex- 

 cellent workers but usually gentle 

 bees. Where only a first cross is 

 desired, I recommend the latter if 



the quality of gentleness is an ob- 

 ject. The Syrio-Italians are vin- 

 dictive, but the Syrio-Germans, 

 with bad handling, can kick up a 

 bigger row in a neighborhood than 

 any other bees I know of. Their 

 sting is very deep and painful, 

 usually causing an ecchjunosis of 

 blood. Dangerous as they are they 

 can be handled nicelj'^ by the use 

 tobacco smoke. (For this purpose, 

 I use in the smoker Scotch snuff 

 rolled up in cotton cloth. 



The Italio-Syrians are fine 

 comb builders and the queens more 

 prolific than pure Italians. The 

 capping of the combs is about like 

 that of the latter. The Syrio- 

 Italians cap their combs like the 

 pure Syrians, showing that the 

 comb building and comb capping 

 faculty is transmitted by the queen, 

 although there will be found varia- 

 tions from the rule. My Syrio- 

 Albinos are bred up from one of 

 these latter queens whose worker 

 bees capped their honey even more 

 beautifully than do the black bees. 

 The white markings are of impor- 

 ted Italian origin, so that this 

 strain of bees is really Syrio-Ita- 

 lian. By careful breeding the 

 white markings were perpetuated 

 and the bees so marked were found 

 to be very gentle, but almost inva- 

 riably the occasional queens with 

 yellow markings would pi-oduce the 

 vindictive beescharacteristic of the 

 Syrio-Italians. 



Our numerous experiments in 

 breeding up a new strain of bees by 

 selective breeding has developed 

 the fact that the honey bee can be 

 greatly improved and now that we 

 have the promise of the sure con- 

 trol of the fecundating process 

 through the late discoveries of 

 Prof.N. W. McLain of the U. S. 

 Apicultural Station, we have be- 

 fore us the delightful assurance 

 that intelligent queen ]>reeders can 

 improve their bees ad injinitum. 



The highly prolific qualities of 



