Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-24

part of the world. The fourth, known as
'Mellifica," is distributed all over the
globe. 1t includes number of varieties,
all OF which were very likely derived from
one stock at the beginning. Bees, like rats,
nave spread with man, though from differ
ent cause. They have accompanied the
human race as servants, not as scavengers.
1t is well known that the ancients kept bees.
They are frequently represented on the
monuments of Egypt. and in that country
centuries before Cleopatra reigned they
were cultivated on very large scale. Thou
sands of barges freighted with hives were
noated up and down the Nile in order to
afford the insects pleasure on the flowers
along the banks
There were no bees in America until
the seventeenth century, when the common
black variety was brought over from Ger
many. 1t is that kind which swarms all
over the United States to-day. But within
recent years beekeeping has been reduced
TO scientific principles, and so it has been
sought to procure from them abroad finer
breeds Important among these IS the
Italian, which was fetched to this country
first in 1852 Italian bees have many ad-
vantages from the industrial point of view.
They are docile and easily handled, they
are verv prolific and they protect their
hives better than the black ones do from
the ravages of the wax moths. These moths
lay their eggs in combs, and the larve feed
upon the wax and pollen, destroying the
cells. In 1881 Mr.. Benton, wellknown
expert. went abroad and brought hither
other choice breeds from Cyprus, Syria and
Palestine. These particularly the Cyprian,
are all very handsome and thoroughly busi-
ness bees, possessing extraordinary energy
in honey gathering. They are irritable and
for that reason difficult to handle, unless
one knows how
Stocks Must Be Carefully Selected.
Nowadays beekeepers select their stock
as carefully as farmers do cattle. Hundreds
of people all over the country made prof
liable business of raising pure-bred Italian
or other queens for market. In each hive
are engendered from 12 to 800 queen bees,
depending upon the race. If left alone they
would nearly all be killed by being stung to
death in their cells, because bee house
hold can never have more than one mistress;
but the breeder removes the portion of the
comb which contains these queen cells be-
fore their occupants are ready to emerge,
and he puts one of them, with a bit of comb
and honey, into each of number of min
iature hives made for the purpose, with a
few handfuls of bees in each. Thus many
thousands of queen bees may be produced in
a season, and, inasmuch as we'll bred ones
sell for from S. to S. each, the business is
lucrative. For some so-called Punic queens,
of an alleged new stock, as much as $50
apiece has recently been asked. In fact,
however, these are merely of the Tunisian
variety from Africa, figuring under a fresh
name. When the young queens are ready
to mate the breeders shut up the drones in
all the hives save those containing the best
CTR bnS ba off.
spring A queen, to fetch good price,
must have already produced satisfactory
progeny, so that the mating shall have been
proved all right.