THE ITALIAN BEE. 297 



the other side of the mountains and only a few miles off, are 

 common bees.* 



557. The importation of Italian bees to another country 

 was first attempted by Capt. Baldenstein. 



"Being stationed in Italy, during part of the Napoleonic 

 wars, he noticed that the bees, in the Lombardo-Venitian dis- 

 trict of Valtelin, and on the borders of Lake Como, differed in 

 color from the common kind, and seemed to be more industrious. 

 At the close of the war, he retired from the army, and returned 

 to his ancestral castle, on the Rhjetian Alps, in Switzerland; 

 and to occupy his leisure, had recourse to bee-culture, which 

 had been his favorite hobby in earlier years. While studying 

 the natural history, habits, and instincts of these insects, he 

 remembered what he had observed in Italy, and resolved to 

 procure a colony from that country. Accordingly, he sent two 

 men thither, who purchased one, carried it over the mountains, 

 to his residence, in September, 1843. 



' ' His observations and inferences impelled Dzierzon — ^who 

 had previously ascertained that the cells of the Italian and com- 

 mon bees were of the same size — to make an effort to procure 

 the Italian bee; and, by the aid of the Austrian Agricultural 

 Society at Vienna he succeeded in obtaining, late in February, 

 1853, a colony from Mira, near Venice." — S. Wagner. 



Some of the Governments of Europe have long ago taken 

 great interest in disseminating among their people a knowledge 

 of bee culture. 



The United States also recognized the importance of our 

 pursuit. An apiarian department has been established and 

 Mr. Frank Benton was sent for a trip around the world, in 

 1905, to investigate the value of the bees and honey pro- 

 ducing plants of other countries. 



558. An attempt was made in 1856, by Mr. Wagner, to 

 import the Italian bees into America; but, unfortunately, the 

 colonies perished on the voyage. The first living Italian bees 



♦ The idea that select Italian bees raised in America, may be purer 

 than any Italians ever imported, has been gravely discussed by some 

 persons. • 



