THE ITALIAN BEE. 441 



the attention of bee-keepers has been called, to the very 

 variety of the honey-bee described by Aristotle and Virgil ; 

 and after the lapse of more than 2200 years, it is still found 

 to exist, distinct and pure from the common kind, and to be 

 as much superior to it, as a Durham ox, to one of the poorest 

 breeds. The following letter from Mr. Wagner will show 

 the importance attached to this species by some of the most 

 skillful and successful Apiarians in Europe. 



York, Pa., August 5, 1856. 

 _My Dear Sir : 



The first account we have of the Italian bees, 

 as a distinct race or variety, is that given by Capl. Balden- 

 stein in the Bienenzeitung, No. 4, 1848. Being stationed in 

 Italy, during part of the Napoleonic wars, he noticed that 

 the bees, in the Lombardo-Venitian, district 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 RhcEtian Alps, in Switzerland ; 

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

 had been his favorite hobby in earlier years. While study- 

 ing 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 and carried it over the 

 mountain, to his residence, in September, 1843. About the 

 same time, he became a subscriber to and correspondent of 

 the Bienenzeitung, and speedily took a lively interest in the 

 discussions then carried on in that Journal, respecting the 

 impregnation of the queen, the sex and design of the drones, 

 the age to which the queen and the workers respectively 

 attain, &c., &c. This induced him to communicate to the 



