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AMERICAN BKE JOURNAw. 



afflicted him for about 30 years. On 

 the day he died, he had eaten dinner at 

 11:430 a.m., then lighted the bee-smoker 

 and looked over his bees. Then he 

 came into the house and told his wife 

 that he had another hard spell with his 

 heart. He went up-stairs and took some 

 medicine which had always relieved 

 him. He then sat in a chair and died. 

 At 1:30 p.m. he was a corpse. ^ 



Mr. Pike had just entered his 70th 

 year, having been born in Franklin 

 county, Pa., on Feb. 24, 1824. He 

 was a great lover of bees, and delighted 

 in working with them, which he did for 

 upwards of 25 years. 



It seems that Mr. Pike took the great- 

 est interest in the Albino bees, which 

 variety he claims to have been the first 

 to breed. In his circular for 1891-92, 

 in speaking of these bees, he says that 

 their habits are about the same as the 

 Italian; their color differing from the 

 Italian by having white or ivory-colored 

 rings around the body, giving them a 

 beautiful silvery appearance. 



In the same circular he gives the 

 "history of the Albino bee," in the fol- 

 lowing words : 



Late in the fall of 1873 I reared a 

 queen from a colony of Italian bees, and 

 allowed her to remain with the colony 

 until the spring of 1874, when I noticed 

 that one-half of her working progeny 

 was mildly marked Italian bees, the 

 other half being marked in the following 

 manner: 



About the eyes they approach nearer 

 a purple than the Italian. Beginning 

 at the waist they first have three distinct 

 yellow bands, then three distinct white 

 bands. The white is pure, not muddy 

 or dirty, the wings are finer, and of a 

 bright silvery color, and their shoulders 

 and under part of the abdomen are very 

 thickly coated with white hair. 



As to their breeding, I can say the 

 (lueens are vecy prolific. As soon as I 

 noticed them I began to breed them out, 

 using the greatest care so as to get them 

 pure, if possible. I removed them from 

 my own colonies to a place where they 

 were not likely to come in contact with 

 other bees. I kept them theVe until 

 they reproduced themselves, with all the 

 markings of the pure Albino, watching 

 them very closely, and examining them 



carefully until I no longer found any 

 Italian bees among them, or any bees 

 bearing any other marks than those of 

 the Albino. Then I considered that I 

 had them in their purity, and that they 

 would uiit breed back to the Italian bees. 

 I have since tested them, and have 

 placed them In competition with the 

 Italian and Palestine bees, all having 

 the same pasturage, and find that they 

 gather more honey, are more gentle to 

 handle, and stick closer to the combs 

 than any other bees. I have given them 

 a severe test in order that I might feel 

 safe in guaranteeing them to the pub- 

 lic, and in order to see whether they 

 were a distinct race or not. My obser- 

 vations have led me to the results men- 

 tioned, and I do not hesitate to give 

 them the first rank in the bee- world. 

 The queens and workers are the hand- 

 somest bees I have ever seen. 



D. A. Pike. 



We have given the foregoing para- 

 graphs not as an advertisement for the 

 Albino bees, but as a matter of history. 

 It would be natural that the originator 

 should see in them many points of ex- 

 cellence, and no doubt they are equal, if 

 not superior, to some of the well-known 

 bees of to-day. 



For the photograph from which the 

 picture of Mr. Pike shown herewith, 

 was taken, and for the short biographi- 

 cal sketch, we are indebted to Mr. Thos. 

 Johnson, of Iowa. 



Have Yoit 'l'rie«l to get a new sub- 

 scriber for the Bee Journal this fall ? We 

 offer to throw in the balance of this year 

 free to new subscribers for 1894, besides 

 their choice of one of the books offered to 

 them on page 703 of this Journal. Then 

 we also give a premium to a present sub- 

 scriber who will send in new ones. It seems 

 to us that our liberal offers this fall ought 

 induce every one of our readers to aid in 

 doubling the circulation of the Bee Jour- 

 nal within six months. Why not help do 

 this, and then see what a grand journal we 

 can furnish to everybody when once the 

 increased number of readers is secured ? If 

 each present reader would send only one 

 new subscriber besides his or her own re- 

 newal before Dec. 1st, the thing would 'be 

 done. Will you do it, reader ? 



A Binder for holding a year's num- 

 bers of the Bee Journal we mail for 

 only 50 cents; or clubbed with the 

 JouRNAi. for $1.40. 



