Whilst I am now writing, just in front of my study window I have a few hives of bees, one lot as black as any British bees I ever saw. For years past these have given me the greatest amount of section-honey as compared with other hives. It is well known that the honey harvest this season (1900), so far, has been a failure almost all over the State, and Sydney district in that respect stands at zero. Some time ago I conceived the idea of _teaching_ my bees to work out certain ornamental designs for the forthcoming Royal Agricultural Snow. When everything was ready to _give them their first lesson_ in ornamental comb-building, the honey crop suddenly failed. So as to produce the said designs in time for the Sydney Royal Agricultural Show, I was compelled to have recourse to supplying the bees with honey for the purpose. The honey was given in large quantities. I distributed the ornamental designs amongst five colonies. I knew the first thing they would do was to pack away as much as possible of the stores in the brood-chamber. When that work was accomplished I naturally supposed all five of the colonies would commence to work out my ornamental designs, N.S.W. N.B.K.A., 1900, which is now in the Sydney Technological Museum. What was the result? No. 1, after having stowed away as much honey as they could, conveniently in the brood-chamber, absolutely refused to take another drop of that supplied them, notwithstanding there was plenty of room in the designs. For years past this No. 1 has never given me a single section of honey. No. 2 was already well stocked with storage in the brood chamber. These also refused to build comb from fed-back honey. No. 3, in like manner, had plenty of honey in the lower storey, but went to work comb-building in a listless manner, and soon became tired of the work. No. 4 (full-blood Italians) went to work unanfully, and in a few days had worked out '0'' design, and on the fifth day commenced storing, and as long as I gave fed-back honey to them so they continue to work the designs and have completed the second '0'' and capped the greater portion of the filled cells. No. 5 are real old-fashioned black bees--the bees of my childhood--largely discarded now for the more gaudily--**motified Italian**. These, too, soon went to work on the design ''19,'' but, what is most singular, they worked out the curvilinear lines of the 9 in preference to the straight line 1. Undoubtedly, the main cause of apathy with Nos. 1, 2, and 3 was the failure in the natural honey flow; but why should they refuse to build comb when there was an abundance of honey supplied them? I will tell you. Because they are not descendants from an industrious and energetic family. Like produces like; not only in colour, form, and size, but in energy, disposition, and docility. In these respects there is as much difference amongst bees as is the case with other animals. In form and features we can easily trace a family likeness in the human race, and in the same race traits of character and intelligence are as indelibly portrayed. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule--or throwbacks, as cattle breeders term it. And the same thing is met with in bee culture.