1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



413 



block is slightly more than the thickness of 

 two end-bars. These end-bars are held tight 

 while being drilled by means of the lever, 

 which crowds the wedge over solid. The 

 machine may be screwed to a bench-post, or 

 be held in a vise. In either case it must be 

 solid. Now we will take a hand drill, stick 

 the point of the bit in one of the holes in the 

 gauge-iron C, start the crank, and punch your 

 hole as if it were more like punching it 

 through than boring it. Treat each gauge of 

 hole the same, then shove the lever to either 

 side, lift out the two bars, drop in two 

 more, bring up the lever, proceed as before, 

 and be surprised how quickly it is done. 

 Bairdstown, O., Feb. 26. 



WHAT DO WE REQUIRE IN A BEE? 



An Interesting Review of the Differences 

 in Bees ; a Plea for a Standard of Per- 

 fection, and for More Systematic 

 Breeding. 



BY R. F. HOLTERMANN. 



Probably in almost every line of live stock 

 found in the class of domestic animals we 

 have ideals mapped out, and then an effort 

 made to breed to that type. In this way we 

 have some, if not all, of our most famous 

 breeds in cattle and sheep. In bees we have 

 not so far been able to control the drone 

 parentage; or if it has been done, as some 

 think, it has not been recognized to any ex- 

 tent. That such control can be secured I 

 believe, but this is a matter which, in my es- 

 timation, the governments of our countries 

 should take up, as the work is too expensive 

 for the individual bee-keeper to undertake; 

 and if undertaken, and success attained, oth- 

 ers would share the fruit of his thought, la- 

 bors, and expense. But with all our uncer- 

 tainty in the direction of controlling the se- 

 lection of males, when the importance of 

 breeding is more fully recognized, and we 

 can agree and keep before us a definite type, 

 then some breeder will undertake to locate 

 in a section where he will be isolated, say on 

 an open prairie or the like. Or extensive 

 honey- producers will club together or pool 

 their orders so as to control tne stock from 

 which their breeder shall propagate. 



But have we ever agreed on a definite type 

 which we may practically desire? and if not, 

 how shall we find out with the least trouble 

 if the bee possesses these qualities? Beauty 

 of the bee has been considered, as well as 

 gentleness and tongue reach; but the few 

 who have done this have worked in a more 

 or less disconnected way. There is much 

 more to do, and the need for a more general 

 awakening as to even these points is plainly 

 evident. It is generally admitted that bees 

 vary gi'eatly, for the reason that colonies ap- 

 parently similar so far as bees are concerned 

 give vastly different results in gathering hon- 

 ey. Can we, by tests, get more accurate in- 

 formation as to what traits shall be kept for 

 breeding, and what weeded out? 



One in my own country, and of my own 

 country, recently made the assertion that, if 

 the black bees had been selected as carefully 

 as some other varieties they would have 

 made as good a showing. I do not think 

 that this gentleman claimed to have much 

 practical knowledge of bees or of work in 

 the apiary, for I think that, when one coun- 

 try is taken with another, and time is con- 

 sidered, the black bee has had quite as good 

 a chance to acquit itself with credit as any 

 other variety. 



There is no use in beginning with any 

 thing less than the best strains of the Itest 

 varieties. I do not breed queens for sale, 

 but I have bought hundreds of them, antl 

 have even bought from the Arctic Circle. 



Bees vary in size much more than the av- 

 erage bee-keeper thinks without actually 

 measuring by scale. I feel sure that I have 

 bees' whicth individually vary in weight thii'- 

 ty-five per cent. We might naturally expect 

 that the larger bee would not only gather the 

 larger load, but would have the strength to 

 press more deeply into the blossoms. We 

 might also hope that it would have a longer 

 tongue reach. 



These matters should be the subject of 

 careful tests and experimental work. 



Again, bees vary as much constitutionally 

 as do the individuals in other animal fami- 

 lies Some are stronger than others, anii 

 can naturally stand more hardship than oth- 

 ers. 



We have heard that changing the queen 

 appears to check certain diseases. We have 

 heard of starved brood and the death of this 

 in the cell, and in this connection I owe Mr. 

 Wm. McEvoy, inspector of apiaries, thanks 

 for drawing my attention to the great dift'er- 

 ence in the way in which one colony feeds 

 the larvfe. But I think that certain varieties 

 of bees and strains in them have constitution- 

 al weaknesses which tend to earlier death 

 than others. 



There is a good deal of dead brood com- 

 plained of that is not diseased. I have seen 

 some of this in my own colonies, and much 

 of it in the apiaries of others, and I have yet 

 to see any of this form of dead brood in what 

 I call the better strains or varieties of bees. 

 For years I have sought to find it in Carnio- 

 lan or Italian bees, but failed. It is always 

 found in those strains in which black largely 

 predominates. I know of more than one 

 bee-keeper now who is changing the strain 

 of bees to do away with this, and in one case 

 at least doing it after observing this feature 

 in my apiary. I do not say that these vari- 

 eties of bees prevent foul brood; but if a 

 strain of bee is more strongly constituted it 

 can resist more unfavorable conditions, just 

 as a strong or healthy person can throw off 

 tubercular germs or other infectious disease 

 when a more feeble person can not. It may 

 be that certain strains of bees are more im- 

 mune to the disease, known as foul brood. 

 Such a strain, too. should winter better, and 

 withstand cold winds in spring, and live 

 longer. Longevity is a strong point. It 

 takes three weeks of care, attention, nursing, 



