Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-14
A BEE WITH NO STING.
Remarkable Results Outlined From q
Variety of Cross Breeding.
HONEY SUPPLY OF THE COUNTRY.
Wide Columns in Books and Newspapers
Are Hard on the Eyes.
THE SCIENCE In EVERYDAY LIFE
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATcH.1

WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATCH.1
In an article on the desirability of pro-
ducing larger race of bees, j. Edward
Giles proposes to cross over present races
of bees with the giant bees of India and
obtain race with long proboscis and per-
haps increased size. This improved race
should be crossed with the South American
stingless bee, and thus a race would be
secured with all the good points of the
italian bee, with heightened proboscis and
stingless; such bee, in fact, as it would be
difficult to improve. 1t might be found
desirable to breed out the swarming
instinct, for there appears to be no reason
why the swarming instinct cannot be bred
out of the bees as thoroughly as the sitting
instinct has been bred out of certain races Of
domestic fowls; but now that swarming
can be so completely controlled BY the use
of queen traps and automatic hivers, this il
o point of minor Importance.
Mr.. Giles Is of opinion that the improve
ment of our bees is of sufficient importance
and the prospect OF success sufficiently
great, to justify the Agricultural Depart
ment of the United States in undertaking
the cost of the necessary experiments Mr..
Giles quotes the honey crop for 1879 as 25,-
600, 900 pounds, or about half a pound for
the year to each inhabitant of the United
States At an average of 10 cents per
pound, the value Of the honey crop for that
year would be about 50, 500, 900, not
reckoning the value of $3.50, 900 pounds
of wax, the amount that would be secreted
in the production Of the quantity of honey
named. If we had a race of stingless bees
there Is good reason to believe that the
value of the crop would soon be doubled, for
many would be induced to go into the busi-
ness of bee keeping who are now deferred
by fear OF the stings, or who live in thickly
settled villages, and hesitate to keep bees
for fear their neighbors will consider their
pets q nuisance. Even in the oldest and
most thickly settled States the number of
bees could easily be doubled without ex-
hausting the honey supply, and there is
practically no limit TO the amount of honey
which could be produced by planting spe-
cial crops in suitable places.
Mr. Giles differs from those who think
that an increased supply of honey would
lower the prices and glut the market, as ex-
perience shows that as the supply of any
article of food increases the demand always
grows. As an illustration he quotes the
case of farmer with whom he compared
notes on the price of farm produce. The
farmer was at the time preparing load of
tomatoes for market, and he remarked that
it was easier to sell wagon load of toma-
toes then than it was to sell peck when he
first began to raise them. The reason 1t is
difficult to sell honey is that people have
not learned to use il. When its many
wholesome qualities are understood it will
take prominent place as a daily food, and
nothing will bring this about more quickly
than the proposed new departure in bee
culture