THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



53 



If it should be foTind impracticable 

 to use any size of section without 

 separators, then the proper dimen- 

 sions for a half-pound section, accord- 

 ing to my ideas, ivould be 434x434x1^8- 



New Philadelphia, O., Jan. 1, 1883. 



For the American Bee JournaL 



The Coining Bee— Enough. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



I will here try to make my position 

 upon this subject so clear that this 

 tedious coutroversy may waste no 

 more time or paper, and Messrs. Dem- 

 aree and Shuck may turn their time 

 to writing upon other subjects. I here 

 publicly invite Mr. Demaree to give 

 us a ringing article on " How Best to 

 Market a Large Crop of Honey." 



First, I believe that we have two 

 well-known races of honey bees in 

 this country— Germans and Italians V 

 Am I correct? 



Second, That we have at least two 

 distinct strains of each of these well- 

 known races, viz., among the Germans 

 a smaller black and larger brown bee, 

 and, among the Italians, a shorter- 

 bodied, bright golden-colored, and 

 longer-bodied, darker, leather-colored 

 bee. Am I right 'i 



Third, That, of the German strains, 

 the larger brown bee is vastly the supe- 

 rior one. Of the Italian, the long, 

 darker bee is the best. Am I right ? 



Fourth, That each one of these 

 races possess traits much superior to 

 the other, traits much desired by the 

 more extensive producers. Is this an 

 error V 



Fifth, That when all the character- 

 istics of botli races are considered 

 carefully, the Italian aggregates the 

 most, and is, all points considered, the 

 best bee extant ; this is admitted by 

 the majority. Anything wrong about 

 this y 



Sixth, That any, and all of these 

 points of excellence are hereditary. 

 Are they not '? 



Now, as it is a fact, to say the most, 

 the Germans are only slightly inferior 

 to the Italians in the aggregate, and 

 that in the vital points of rapid.white 

 and straight comb building, non- 

 swarming and quick and white finish- 

 ing of sections of comb honey, they 

 are their superiors. I, .5 years ago, 

 decided to breed from all of the good 

 and bad qualities of both races, rather 

 than both good and bad of either one 

 alone, all the time discouraging the 

 bad, and encouraging the good, by all 

 the processes known to breeders, the 

 same as any wise breeder would do 

 with either race in its purity. Have 

 Messrs. Shuck or Demaree shown us 

 why I could have developed more good 

 qualities (such as white, straight and 

 rapid comb building) by breeding 

 alone from a racej,hat did not possess 

 it? But we do not see through the 

 same glasses. 



I am looking forward to the near 

 day when I shall have from §5,000 to 

 $10,000 worth of bright comb honey in 

 nice white little sections to sell— all 

 the product of one season. 



Do you know that, do what I might 

 with these bright golden Italians, I 



could never accomplish it, unless with 

 double the number of colonies that I 

 expect to use V 



Mr. Demaree always talks to us 

 about "thorough-bred stock." His 

 mind always runs horse and corn- 

 ward before he has properly canvassed 

 the subject of breeding the best qual- 

 ities in bees. 



"Oh! Mr. Demaree. come back. 



From your blue-grass, corn pasture, 

 And looli at this theme 

 As sliould a bee master."— C. J. li. 



Why tell me, over and over, that I 

 "can never establish a fixed race with 

 only two pure races ? " Who said I 

 could ? I never knew whether I could 

 or not ; I only knew that I could get 

 more surplus honey with less friction 

 and stings, with these crosses, tlian 

 with either race pure ; as I have them 

 transiently " fixed," and that it will 

 pay me much the best, even if I have 

 to fix them all the time. I am of the 

 opinion that had I any pure strains of 

 any race of bees known, that I should 

 " fix " them as long as I kept them. 

 The report that tells of my saying 

 that the light Italians are better- 

 natured than the dark ones, is an 

 error, for I did 7iot, and I have always 

 maintained that the dark ones are the 

 best behaved bees of any pure race, 

 and that the crosses between these 

 and the brown bees are equally as 

 well behaved. I am sorry you should 

 have come out at the sight of a 

 shadow, when the same time and 

 space might have been devoted to 

 " How to Market a Large Crop of 

 Honey." 



I think it was Mr. Demaree that 

 told us that the Italians were hybrids 

 themselves. Well, if they are, being 

 composed (as they must be a la I>.) of 

 " several races,'' there may be a 

 chance for me to " get there " yet. 

 Mr. Shuck accounted the impover- 

 ished, honeyless condition of his bees, 

 at one time of year, to the season, and 

 then a result, with a?];/ bees, proved a 

 honey shower, and credited the latter 

 result all to the stock. His first state- 

 ment disproved the last, and the last 

 proved too much, or nothing. Did it 

 not? 



Mr. Demaree tells us that crosses 

 sport so much that they are liable to 

 fall back to worthlessness (if they do 

 not fall below the worth of the brown 

 German strain I started with, I will 

 stand it, well), because they are not 

 (like the pure races) " fixed," yet Mr. 

 Shuck proposes to breed up his coming 

 bee out of this Jixedness. I will leave 

 Messrs. Demaree and Shuck to settle 

 this between themselves. 



In the tenth paragraph of Mr. 

 Shuck's reply to me, he says that my 

 "theory (it isreally my practice) looks 

 well on paper, but in practice it pre- 

 sents quite a different picture;" and 

 then, to prove it, cites us to hisfailure 

 with a pure queen, imported from 

 Italy, selected at that, during the years 

 1880-81. 



Several have written me to ask if I 

 should reply to Mr. Shuck. Mr. Sny- 

 der, of Clarksville, writes me : " Shuck 

 is right after you ; I think yoii will 

 have to give up your coming hybrid 

 bee," and, in the next line, he says : 

 " I am quite a poultry breeder, and I 



am producing a cross between two 

 distinct pure breeds, which I think 

 much superior to either pure race, and 

 I coiild give good reasons for my com- 

 ing fowls ? " Mr. Demaree will please 

 correct Mr. Snyder. Had he not better 

 add a blue jay or red fowl to his 

 crosses ? 



Well, the reason I had not replied to 

 Mr. Shuck was because I could see no 

 argument to reply to. When his ar- 

 ticle came, I was entertaining an old 

 queen and bee breeder and honey- 

 producer (second to none in America, 

 inmyopinion),and we read the article 

 togetlier and neither of us could see 

 what I was going to "hit at," and it 

 lames my muscles to strike into the 

 air and hit nothing. 



But, really, is it not a matter of 

 demonstration V Must we not let the 

 utility of the bees by all who use them, 

 decide the matter ? I fancy I hear an 

 accord from Messrs. Hutchinson, Oat- 

 man, Miller, and a whole host of 

 men, who are known to " get ttiere " 

 early and often, saying, with our 

 worthy editor, " the coming bee will 

 have the right number of yellow 

 bands, be it one or many ? " 



I may be too grossly practical, but I 

 feel something like the practical old 

 lady, who, after doing her full share 

 of amassing a fortune from the dairy, 

 hennery and farm, took her big, awk- 

 ward son " Eli " to the fair, to run to 

 a 20 rod post and get off the $0 gold 

 piece first. When on his race, and 

 nearly been led by numerous competi- 

 tors, the old lady, who stood by in 

 breathless suspense, cried out, " do 

 not jump so high, but git there, 

 Eli." 



Please excuse me if I put more con- 

 fidence in the opinion of bee-keepers 

 who get iliere than in those who do the 

 high jumping. T,Jie ink of imagina- 

 tion has no affinity for the ear of ex- 

 perience. 



Dowagiac, Mich., Jan. 5, 1883. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Wood Separators for Surplus Honey. 



C. R. ISHAM. 



Mr. Editor :— By to-day's mail I 

 send you a few wood separators, the 

 same as we have used in our apiary 

 during the past season, and of stand- 

 ard thickness, one-sixteenth of an 

 inch. I put one or two into the pack- 

 age, which have been in use, that you 

 may the better judge as to their prac- 

 ticability for the purpose of securing 

 straight combs with smooth, evea 

 surface. 



In an article published in your Jour- 

 nal a short time ago, Mr. F. C. Ben- 

 edict gives the experience of himself 

 and neighbors who have used wood 

 separators, more or less, for several 

 seasons past, all of whom are among 

 our most experienced and successful 

 honey-producers, and follow bee-keep- 

 ing for profit more than pleasure. 



Mr. Benedict's article on " Half- 

 Pound Sections," marks him as a 

 writer possessed of good judgment 

 and who knows what he is talking 

 about. 



