.k)5. 



THE AMEiRICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



59 



[eeper has naturally felt an intei-est 

 I the Punier, and has wished that 

 hers might decide to try them, 

 ence, the subject has been given con- 

 derable space in our columns; and we 

 gret tliat personal differences can- 

 >t be adjusted in some way that will 

 srmit practical tests of this race in 

 inerica at this time. 



PUNICS. 



In response to an inquiry, Editor 



)ot, in Gleanings, says: "We tested 



e so-called Punic bees a few years 



0. We did not discover that they 



d any quality that was in any way 



perior to any of the bees in this 



untry. They were fearful propoliz- 



3, bad about stinging, and, in my 



inion, they were not even as good 



es for general use as the 



mmon black bees of this country. 



ey were very much inferior to Ital- 



s; and. from reports I have read of 



3m since, I should not think any one 



)uld be wise in introducing them into 



f yard. A few Punic drones might 



ike a bad mix-up in the stock that 



iild not easily be eradicated." 



\rr. Root is not very explicit, as to 



1 ' extent of the test which was there 



'.-(■n these bees. If they have been 



t iioughly tested in America we 



s Hild like very much to obtain specif- 



i information as to results. From 



' ■ own limited experience, with one 



colony of Punics, we think very 



rently. Excepting the Caucasian 



' "iiy Mr. J. B. Hall had years ago 



^'in the writer was with him in Can- 



■M, our Punicc? are the gentlest bees 



liave ever handled anywhere. We 



iJve manipulated the colony, perhaps, 



aiundred times, sometimes with a lit- 



tl and sometimes with no smoke at 



a. and they have never offered once 



listing. Their crosses, however, are 



n so amiable as the parent colony. 



PREJUDICE. 

 Ve sometimes wonder if bee-keepers 

 8' not unduly prejudiced against new 

 tlng.s which might prove beneficial 

 tithem. 



Ve have heard it asserted that an 



" npping-machine could never be 



" successful. Possibly it might 



but the problem hardly seems 



' I' difficult or intricate tx.an a type- 



' ing machine, the telephone or wire- 



'f : telegraphy. 



rtificial honeycomb has never been 



^f. but we should not care to go on 



' n. as have so many others, as «ay- 



■ that " it cannot and will not ever 



be accompli,shed." It's hard to tell 

 what the twentieth century may bring 

 forth. 



Perhaps the primitive man, who had 

 just completed an elegant new "dug- 

 out'' canoe with which to navigate the 

 streams of his neighborhood, may have 

 thought he had accomplished the acme 

 of perfection in seagoing craft. There 

 have been some improvements in this 

 line since, however. 



Very many bee-keepers feel sure 

 that in the Italian bee they have quite 

 all the excellent qualities that may be 

 obtained in one race. Perhaps they 

 have but it is hardly the part of wis- 

 dom to be so complaisant as to settle 

 down in perfect contentment with 

 present conditions in any line. It's 

 better to keep striving for improve- 

 ment. Such efforts are nearly always 

 rewarded with succekss of greater or 

 less degree. If not in dollars and 

 cents, greater knowledge of facts come 

 to compensate the work. 



In this connection we are reminded 

 of a recent instance: One of the 

 veteran bee-keepers wrote to approve 

 Prof. Benton's article in regai-d to 

 Punic bees, wljich he denounced. The 

 writer of this is always alert for infor- 

 mation upon any apiarian subject, and 

 especially upon that which pertains to 

 the improvement of stock and the bet- 

 tering of market conditions. He, 

 therefore, felt sure that the corraspond- 

 ent. who thought so favorably of 

 Prof. Benton's criticism, must have 

 some knowledge of Punics, and accord- 

 ingly wrote at once for information. 

 This is the response: 



"With regard to Punic bees I know 

 nothing. l)ut I frankly confess I have 

 no faith in them." 



This is prejudice, pure and simple. 

 Tins journal is not advocating Punic 

 bees, nor, indeed, any particular race. 

 However, it is a noteworthy fact that 

 some persons have no faith in any- 

 thing with which they are not 

 familiar; and such persons are usually 

 several years behind the procession as 

 a result of their exti*aordinary pre- 

 caution against imposition. We'are at 

 a loss to understand why anyone, 

 wholly without experience or knowl- 

 edge upon a certain subject, should 

 feel moved to express their approval 

 or disapproval thereof. Varying de- 

 grees of faith, or its entire absence, 

 have no influence upon the quality of 

 goods. If a man has tried a certain 

 brand of goods and finds it bad, or 

 good then an expression of his opinion 

 is one of some value; otherwise, it is 

 worthless. 



