THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



157 



Yes, I'll let them pant and howl, 

 shall keep riglit on in the same road 

 till the end is reached. When I give 

 my discoveries in queen rearing, as made 

 this year (1892) by me more than th 

 usual howling will go up. 



What is better : the prog-eny of a Pnnic 

 virgin fertilized by a good I/.nlian drone 

 or the progeny of a good Italinn virgin 

 fertilized by a Punic drone. — The Hallara- 

 shire Beekeeper says that within six miles 

 from Punic Apiary there should be no 

 drone of another race. How about your 

 ydlow Funics. At any rate your experi- 

 ment will be highly interesting. 



I cannot say which would be the bet- 

 ter cross, not having experimented but 

 little in that line. I have two colonies of 

 Punic bees crossed by Italians, they are 

 fine honey-gatherers and gentle. 



As to keeping the races six miles 

 apart to prevent mixing, I will say that 

 the Hallamshire Beekeeper is way off. 

 But no more so than some few people in 

 this country who make the same claims. 



I now have several "yellow Punic" 

 queens. If, after trying them another 

 season they are founri all rights that is, 

 gentle, good lioney gatherers, etc., I 

 shall most likely rear some queens of 

 this strain for sale. 



I strongly believe in mixing the yel- 

 low races as much as possible, yet one 

 cannot do so if he is a queen dealer. For 

 my own apiary I should cross the Ital- 

 ians with golden Carniolans. Each year 

 I would send to some distant apiary for 

 one or more queens to "cross up" stock, 

 and thus infuse new blood and avoid 

 in-breeding. To be sure the bees 

 reared by such a method would not be 

 as handsomely marked as would be the 

 case if in-breeding was indulged in ; yet 

 for hardiness and honey-gathering quali- 

 ties, the mixed strains would be far 

 superior in all respects. 



HIO KNOWS IT ALL. 



Below I give the opinion of what pure 

 Italians are by one of those chaps who 

 know it all. 



"Mr. Alley, — Can you furnish me a 

 queen that shows all five-banded bees 

 with no black rings, or one that shows 



all three-banded bees and no black rings 

 between the yellow bands?" 



Now comes the funny part of the let- 

 ter : 



"In my experience with Italians I find 

 no bees are pure that show black rings 

 between the bands. 



Three bands with no black rinos be- 

 tween bands are pure Italians : three 

 bands with black rings between, only 

 half Italian ; two bands, only one fourth 

 Italian ; two bands are pure race if uni- 

 form.'' — 



My friend, there is no purity about 

 Italian bees ; let the bands be few or 

 many. Italians are hybrids whether in 

 Italy or in America. I have no doubt 

 the so-called Italians are black bees 

 mixed with yellow Carniolans. 



"NO GREAT SHAKES." 



In a recent letter received from a 

 lady in Canada, she says "I had formed 

 an idea that the Api was no great shakes. 

 Did not I find myself grandly mistaken, 

 for now my opinion, since I received 

 copies, is so changed in regard to it that 

 it is a very great disappointment to me 

 that I must do without it. 



Of "Thirty Years Among the Bees" 

 the same writer says : "Every word has 

 been already devoured most greedily. I 

 have found 3. good many helpful things 

 and I am not flattering, nor anything 

 like it when I say that I find your work 

 and teachings so much more plain, and 

 best of all, — practical than the others." 



Bang-all, N. Y., July 21, '90. 

 Mr. Alley, 



Dear Sir : 



Kindly inform me 

 where I can procure Holy Land and Cyp- 

 rian queens. I And the golden Carniolans 

 to be large, handsome and industrious bees. 

 Yours Respectfully 



Geo. H. Deuell 



[You can get those worthless bees in 

 Cyprus. What do you want them for? 

 'Tis none of my business, yet I feel com- 

 pelled to say that if you desire bees that 

 are of no value at all, you can save much 

 money and expense, by purchasing them 

 in this country. Try the five-banded 

 bees and you will like them.] 



