THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



85 



The next essay, read by tlie Secre- 

 tary, was by James ileddon, and was 

 entitled the 



Improvement of the American Italians. 



How to obtain tlie best bees is an 

 absorbing tlieine among our fraternity 

 just now. Well may it be, for, as ycjii 

 all know from experience liow varied 

 has been tlie results from different 

 colonies, supposed to be equal in all 

 respects. You well know that in this 

 lies a larjie portion of the cause of suc- 

 cess. We have experimented with 

 the Italian bees, the German bees, the 

 Cyprian bees, Syrian bees, etc., and 

 yet it remains an open question which 

 are the best. 



True, a majority prefer the Italians 

 to the Germans, but a considerable 

 minority yet prefer the German. A 

 fact worthy of our careful considera- 

 tion, is that among those who, by the- 

 ory and practice, adhere closely to the 

 German, are men who have had large 

 experience with both races, and who 

 are extensive and successful honey 

 producers. Many of these men have 

 preferred hybrids to either race in its 

 pju-ity; others have not liked them. 

 In my judgment, both classes arrived 

 at theirconclusions through their ex- 

 periences, and both drew logical de- 

 ductions from their different stand- 

 points. Among each of these races 

 we notice strains that differ widely 

 from each other. Our success with 

 hybrids depends upon two facts, the 

 skill possessed in obtaining good 

 strains of each race to start the cross- 

 ing with, and the judgment and 

 strains used by the master in superin- 

 tending these crossings. 



My experience has forced me to 

 know that individual colonies of a 

 strain differ from each other more 

 w'idely in their virtues, than do differ- 

 ent strains ; further, that strains 

 differ more widely than races, so far 

 as I have used them, my u.se being 

 confined to German and Italian bees. 



I have no doubts, after -5 years of 

 experimenting, that virtuous traits of 

 character in the bee are as surely 

 transmissable as are qualities in other 

 animals. I believe I am yearly de- 

 monstrating and reaping behefitsfrom 

 the fact. No bee will ever satisfy me 

 that does not possess qualities that 

 are identified with the German bees 

 alone. The same with the Italians 

 alone. 



I would that I was at liberty to give 

 to yon the verbatim contents of several 

 letters I have from intelligent and ex- 

 perienced breeders, who are yearly 

 filling the demand for thrice-emerged 

 Italians. It has been found far more 

 profitable to fill a present demand in 

 a wrong direction, than to create a 

 demand in a right one. 



From what I can learn I do not, at 

 present, think that the Cyprian or 

 Syrians possess any special trait of 

 •character, not embodied in tlie virtues 

 of the two older races, worth bringing 

 into our breeding. A few vital jioints 

 in all that we can afford to work with 

 at once. We have about the same 

 number of propensities to guard 

 Against, of course, viz.: the opposites 

 of those for which we are breeding. 



The older members will recollect 



that during the early days of the Ital- 

 ians in America, from among the re- 

 ports of the leaders of the present, 

 came words like these : " I like the 

 Italians better than the blacks, and 

 the hybrids better than either, if they 

 were not so cross. They beat all I 

 ever saw as honey gatherers." 

 Another, " My pure Italians go ahead 

 of my hybrids and blacks ; my hybrids 

 are good, peaceable bees, but not as 

 good gatherers as the pure Italians.'" 



It is neither just nor logical to say 

 that such statements were false, but 

 we have reason to believe that from 

 variations and sportings, came these 

 different experiences. 



These variations, I think, invite ns 

 all to improve our stock. 



We liave the encu'mous advantage of 

 rapid generation. We have had the 

 disadvantage of no control over the 

 males, but now I find, in my present 

 conditions, that I have almost perfect 

 control over them. I have the only 

 bees (222 colonies) kejit within 3 or"4 

 miles. I have used selected combs, 

 and those built on full sheets of foun- 

 dation on wires, and find tliat by a lit- 

 tle care, I can stock the air with about 

 such drones as I wish. 



As natural as the ebb and flow of 

 the tide, has come up the ci'y of "hold 

 on," "don't import any more bees," 

 "we have got bees here now better 

 than those we import," " why, they 

 are buying and carrying back to Italy 

 our American Italians." 



These statements and acts are not 

 the result of theory, but of practice, 

 giving us demonstrations of facts. I 

 think the desire for Cyprians and 

 Syrians came from the facts that there 

 was no longer any cause to import 

 Italians. IIow came this change ? 



In the business of breeding off black 

 and on yellow rings, our attention was 

 called to the wisdom of breeding in 

 some qualities. Almost every breeder 

 bethought himself to choose the best 

 business colonies when picking out 

 his yellowest bees. Those who have 

 closely watched the results of their 

 labors, are seeing that nearly all the 

 improvements they have made have 

 come, not from change in race or 

 color, but from breeding from the best 

 acting colonies ; that, instead of say- 

 ing, " I will pick out my best acting 

 colonies from among my yellowest to 

 breed from," they should have said, 

 " I will pick out my yellowest from 

 among my best acting colonies, if I 

 must supply yellow bees in order to 

 satisfy my iiatrons.'" Now, I think 

 that no experienced and observing 

 breeder will differ from me, unless on 

 the point of whether he should start 

 with pure yellow bees alone, or both 

 the races. 



Whoever takes issue with me npon 



this point, I think will be forced to 



admit that the German or black bees 



possess some very valuable qualities, 



that the Italians do not. All tlie room 



left forarguinentthen.isas to whether 



we can add to our " coming bee '" these 



superior qualities, without necess irily 



taking with them some poor qualities 



! possessed by the same race. I am 



! forced to say that I know that I can, 



j and have diine it. I will state here 



and now, that I, as a comb honey pro- 



ducer, would, were I confined to one 

 race or the other in its purity, choose 

 the (iernian bee. 



I tirnily believe that the lauded 

 leather-colored Italians were shaded 

 by a diish of black blood, which has 

 become fixed. 1 also believe that far 

 better bees than these can be produced 

 by the same process under the di- 

 rection of reason. 



Why, I, like many other special 

 apiarists (of whom New York has a 

 large share) prefer the production of 

 comb honey. I willleave for another 

 paper, but such being the case, am I 

 not justified in refusing to give up the 

 speedy and white cinnb-building pro- 

 pensities of the German bees, also 

 their suiierior disposition to store in 

 the sur|)lus department rather than 

 the brood combs, and their consequent 

 reluctance to svv'arm V Are not these 

 admitted peculiarities of the black 

 bees V No, the yellow ones ; and are 

 they not vital points ¥ 



Dowagiac, Mich. 



This essay called forth a discussion 

 of the nature of the different kinds of 

 bees, whicli was participated in by 

 very many. The discussion was gen- 

 eral, interesting and profitable. 



The question of puncturing grapes 

 was brought up. This is important 

 among bee-keepers, and it is one over 

 which legal ditliculties have often been 

 threatened. It was the unanimous 

 opinion of all present that honey-bees 

 never under any circumstances imnc- 

 ture the skin of a grape. Tests have 

 been repeatedly made, and in no case 

 has any bee ever been known to touch 

 a grape that was not punctured. ]51ack 

 ants are the enemies of the grapes. 

 Two bills were introduced in the Cali- 

 fornia legislature to do away with all 

 bees on this account. A careful ex- 

 amination and an extended debate 

 proved that there was not a single 

 case of bees puncturing grajies. The 

 society placed itself on record on the 

 matter by adopting the following reso- 

 lution introduced by C. R. Dickinson, 

 of South Oxford, and amended by Mr. 

 King, of New York : 



Resolred, After due investigation of 

 well known and numerous cases, the 

 Convention unanimously asserts that 

 the honey-bee never ))unctures the 

 skin of a perfect grape or any other 

 fruit. Biittliatthe sucking of juices 

 from fruits is only from that which 

 lias been punctured by other insects, 

 birds or natural causes. 



A motion was carried that the Sec- 

 retary cause to be printed 200 copies 

 of the above resolution and that these 

 copies be distributed among the mem- 

 bers and various publications. 



During the day 2S persons were en- 

 rolled as members of the Association ; 

 the total membership is now about 

 IfiO. A. .J. King, editor of the Bee- 

 Keepers^ Magazine, was made an hon- 

 orary member. 



At .5 i).m. the Convention adjcnirned 

 to meet at 7 p.m. 



EVENING SESSION. 



At the appointed hour the Conven- 

 tion was called to order by Mr. Clark, 

 President pro tern. The Secretary 

 read a communication from Messrs. 



