THE AMERICAN A PIC UL TURIS T. 



127 



probably spring from a belief that 

 light color and bright bands are 

 prejudicial to hardiness and indus- 

 try. Let us see if the other side to 

 this question has not likewise firm 

 foundation. In taking the various 

 races as nature gives them to us we 

 find some races black and some yel- 

 low. Be the two circumstances con- 

 nected or disconnected, we find that 

 yellow races are in most respects the 

 better. Now we avail ourselves of 

 good opportunities and breed the 

 better varieties ; what standards shall 

 we set up and what features shall we 

 strive to retain? Unquestionably, 

 the one object among practical bee 

 men is profit ; therefore, those char- 

 acteristics of bees that affect the 

 amount of honey stored are the ones 

 that should be kept and cultivated 

 by select breeding and at all hazards. 

 But this may be done without sacri- 

 ficing color, and beauty in bees adds 

 to the pleasure of beekeeping which 

 is an item at least. Bright color 

 does not necessarily impair industry. 



The Italians have grown steadily 

 in favor since the time of their in- 

 troduction ; and one of the chief 

 traits to recommend them is their 

 superior industry as compared with 

 the blacks. Yet the three bright 

 golden bands that help to render 

 them so beautiful have been recog- 

 nized from the first, and the talk 

 about dark, leather-colored ones is 

 a matter of later date. 



The Cyprians and the Syrians 

 have proven themselves wonderfully 

 brave, hardy and energetic ; yet their 

 color is of surpassing brightness and 

 beauty. The effect of their yellow 

 bands is heightened by the profu- 

 sion of yellow hairs distributed on 

 other parts of their bodies, and yet, 

 after nature has given us the yellow 

 races superior to black ones, we are 

 told that we may make them still 

 better by breeding them darker. 



Again, color in bees does not 

 necessarily influence their disposi- 

 tion either way. 



The Italians in their purity are as 

 gentle as any manipulator could wish. 

 The still brighter Albinos — a varia- 

 tion from the Italians — are consid- 

 ered even more peaceable. Bur the 

 black bees, as long as their courage 

 holds out, viciously resent intrusion. 

 On the other hand, the Cyprians 

 and the Palestines, as beautiful as 

 the Albinos, are fierce and warlike, 

 while the gray Carniolans are as harm- 

 less in disposition as any bees known. 

 Color, therefore, is not of itself a 

 controUing factor in either of these 

 useful traits, neither is it in prolific- 

 ness. How, then, may color be 

 developed prejudicially to other 

 points ? 



I will say by way of acknowledg- 

 ment that it may be done by breed- 

 ing for appearance solely, regardless 

 of other points. To illustrate : 



Of several queens that I raised 

 last year from a somewhat dark 

 Cyprian mother, the majority were 

 like the mother in appearance, but 

 a few were light colored and very 

 handsome. The colonies produced 

 from the latter were this spring 

 among the most prosperous I had ; 

 so I used these light queens for 

 drone mothers and I expect none 

 but good results. But had these 

 queens been the mothers of less ac- 

 tive bees instead, and had I in my 

 anxiety to get beautiful stock bred 

 from them just the same, I would 

 ha\e committed act no. i toward 

 deteriorating my stock. This might 

 have given a start down hill, the re- 

 sult of which would depend on my 

 committing act no. 2 and so on. 

 Geo. E. Waring, an authority on 

 Jersey cattle, deprecated breeding 

 those animals for " black points," 

 not because black markings on nose, 

 tip of tail, horns, etc., were prejudi- 

 cial to dairy qualities of necessity, 

 but because they might be so by 

 accident after the same manner. 

 Poorer animals for butter might fre- 

 quently be bred from, just because 

 they happen to have these fancy 



