MANUAL OF THE APIARY. 181 



judgment, that do not give strong preference to the Italians. 

 That these men are honest, is beyond question ; that those 

 who disagree with us are equally so, there is no doubt. The 

 black bees are in some respects superior to the Italians, and 

 if a bee-keeper's methods cause him to give these points undue 

 importance, in forming his judgments, then his conclusions 

 may be wrong. Faulty management, too, may lead to wrong 

 conclusions. 



The Italians certainly possess the following points of supe- 

 riority : ^ 



First. They possess longer tongues (Fig. 20), and so can 

 gather from flowers which arc useless to the black bee. This 

 point has already been sufficiently considered (p. 42). How 

 much value hangs upon this structural peculiarity, I am unable 

 to state. I have frequently seen Italians working on red 

 clover. I never saw a black bee thus employed. It is easy 

 to see that this might be, at certain times and certain seasons, 

 a very material aid. How much of the superior storing 

 qualities of the Italians is due to this lengthened ligula, I 

 am unable to say. 



Second. They are more active, and with the same oppor- 

 tunities will collect a good deal more honey. This is a matter 

 of observation, which I have tested over and over again. Yet 

 I will give the figures of another : Mr. Doolittle secured from 

 two colonies, 309 lbs. and 301 lbs., respectively, of box honey, 

 during the past season. These surprising figures, the best he 

 could give, were from his best Italian stocks. Similar testi- 

 mony comes from Klein and Dzierzon over the sea, and from 

 hosts of our own apiarists. 



Third. They work earlier and later. This is not only 

 true of the day, but of the season. On cool days in spring, 

 I have seen the dandelions swarming with Italians, while not 

 a black bee was to be seen. On May 7th, 1877, I walked 

 less than one-half a mile, and counted sixty-eight bees gath- 

 ering from dandelions, yet only two were black bees. This 

 might be considered an undesirable feature, as tending to 

 spring dwindling. Yet, with the proper management, to be 

 described while considering the subject of wintering, we think 

 this no objection, but a great advantage. 



Fourth. They are far better to protect their hives against 



