192 Superiority of Italians. 



CHAPTER XI. 

 ITALIANS AND ITALIANIZING. 



The history and description of Italians have already been 

 considered, so it only remains to discuss the subject in a prac- 

 tical light. 



The superiority of the Italians seems no longer a mooted 

 question. I now know of no one among the able apiarists in 

 our country who takes the ground that a thorough balancing 

 of qualities will make as favorable a showing for the German 

 as for the Italian bees, though I think^that the late Baron of 

 Berlepsch held to this view. 



I think I am capable of acting as judge on this subject. I 

 have never sold a dozen queens in my life, and so have not 

 been unconsciously influenced by self-interest. In fact, I have 

 never had, if I except two years, any direct interest in bees 

 at all, and all my work and experiments had only the promo- 

 tion and spread of truth as the ultimatum. Again, I have 

 kept both blacks and Italians side by side and carefully 

 observed and noted results during eight years of my expe- 

 rience. I have carefully collected data as to increase of 

 brood, rapidity of storing, early and late habits in the 

 day and season, kinds of flowers visited, amiability, etc., 

 and I believe that to say that they are not superior to black 

 bees, is like saying that a Duchess among short-horns is in no 

 wise superior to the lean, bony kine of Texas ; or that our 

 Essex and Berkshire swine are no whit better than the cadav- 

 erous, lank breeds, with infinite noses, that, happily, are now 

 so rare among us. The Italians are far superior to the Ger- 

 man bees in many respects, and though I am acquainted with 

 all the works on apicultui;e printed in our language, and have 

 an extensive acquaintance with the leading apiarists of our 

 country from Maine to California, yet I know not a man that 

 has had opportunity to form a correct judgment, that does not 

 give strong preference to the Italians. 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 



