Italian Honeybees

Scientific Research in Tahiti

From Our Own Correspondent.

PAPEETE, March 26.

MUCH scientific research work is being done in Tahiti with the honeybee by Mr. E. L. Sechrist, who was for many years apiculturist with the United States Dept. of Agriculture at Washington, D.C., and recently, until his retirement, in charge of the U.S. Research on Honeyin California. The honeybees of Tahiti are the famous old Italian stock brought here in 1869. They soon became naturalized here and, curiously enough, appear to be the purest stock of Italian bees to be found anywhere outside Italy.

It is of much interest to beekeepers of the world that Mr. Sechrist has located a reservoir of the pure Italian bees in Tahiti and that he has been stationed here permanently to do research work and to distribute queen bees of this stock to beekeepers who wish to begin with the original Italian honeybee. Particularly is this true because of the work now be ing done on scientific, or instrumental, insemination of queen bees, by which a selected queen bee can be mated with a drone of selected stock, whereby a strain can be kept pure, or line bred, or any particular characteristic developed.

Soon after bees were introduced into Tahiti, an export business in honey and wax sprang up, but this has almost dis appeared. With the renewed interest in

Tahitian bees, this industry may again become of importance, particularly as Mr.

Sechrist and Mr. Harrison Smith are introducing new honey plants to Tahiti.

One of these is the Algaroba tree, which has made Hawaii famous for its honey.

The naturalisation of the Algaroba tree in Tahiti would have a double value, as besides its importance as a source of honey, its seed pods provide a rich and abundant food for cattle.