BEE BUSINESS 45 



rather than for utility. This is a problem 

 that many live stock breeders have en- 

 countered in recent years. Hens in par- 

 ticular have been "bred for feathers" 

 rather than for eggs and as a result many 

 ''show" specimens are poor egg produc- 

 ers. Poultry men now realize this fact 

 and beekeepers must soon recognize it. 

 A few seasons ago I bought a beautiful 

 Italian queen from a breeder noted for 

 the excellence of his stock. Her eggs pro- 

 duced the gentlest bees that I ever 

 handled, but unfortunately they were as 

 indolent as a Florida "cracker" on a 

 warm spring day. They were beautiful 

 yellow fellows with just the nicest dispo- 

 sitions in the world but they lacked the 

 pep to get out and hustle for a living. 

 They finally starved to death one spring, 

 with a pan of sugar sirup sitting right on 

 top of their frames. 



This case, of course, is an exception, 

 but it does show that it is possible to 

 overdo the business of breeding bees for 

 color and gentleness. 



