168 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



September 



races as now known. 



Of all the different races and varieties 

 of apis melUfica the American bee- 

 keepers seem to prefer the following 

 three: Italian, Black and Carniolan. 

 Indeed, any of these are very good bees 

 to keep; one race may snit one, another 

 may suit another better. To compare 

 these different bees with one another 

 from the standpoint of the honey-pro- 

 ducer is my object in writing this article, 

 although I do not expect to exhaust the 

 subject. 



As to their beauty, our bees are more 

 or less attractive, and I should classify 

 them like this : The Italians stand first, 

 the Carniolan second, the Blacks last. 

 There seems to be a slight variation 

 among the Italians, some being more 

 yellow than others ; some have white 

 hairs. The latter are called Albinos, 

 the former Golden Italians. Among the 

 black bees, it is said, is a sub-variety 

 called the large brown bee. I have 

 never been able to find them, and I 

 question the existence of such in Amer- 

 ica. The Carniolan bee is really only a 

 variety of the black bee, a sort of Albino 

 black; but we will consider it here as a 

 race. 



Naming our three races of bees in 

 their proper order according to their 

 gentleness, the list would be, first, Car- 

 niolan; second, Italian; third. Blacks. 

 According to their prolificness the order 

 is: first, Carniolan; second, blacks; third 

 Italian. Some apiarists may take ex- 

 ception to my classifying our bees thus; 

 for this reason I want to say that an Ital- 

 ian queen may be induced to lay just as 

 many eggs in a given time as a Carnio- 

 lan queen, by manipulating the brood- 

 combs; but if left undisturbed, the Ital- 

 ian bees will fill their brood-nest with 

 honey to such an extent as to prevent 

 the rearing of an excess of brood. This 

 peculiar feature of the Italian bees is 

 probably the reason why they do not 

 enter the section cases as readily as the 

 Blacks and the Carniolans, and it is 

 quite evident that they need different 



treatment than the latter in order to do 

 their best. The prudent apiarist under- 

 stands this matter, and I would not for 

 a moment on this account hesitate to 

 generally adopt the Italian bee. 



There being a difference in the pro- 

 lificness of the different races, has in its 

 sequence a difference of their disposi- 

 tion to swarm. The Carniolans, as being 

 the most prolific, will send out the most 

 swarms; the Italians, as the least pro- 

 lific, will swarm the least; although the 

 difference between the Italians and the 

 Blacks in this respect is not so pro- 

 nounced as between the Blacks and 

 Carniolans. 



I will now name two points wherein 

 the Italians excel the other two races. 

 First, they generally store much more 

 pollen in their combs; second, they are 

 apt to gather more propolis, both being 

 undesirable properties, considered from 

 the comb-honey producers standpoint. 



Next, let us compare the different 

 bees as to the manner in which they 

 cap or seal their box-honey. The 

 Carniolans stand at the head of the list, 

 almost equalled by the Blacks. They 

 have a way of closing up each cell by 

 leaving a small air-space between the 

 honey and the capping. The Italians 

 are more economical; they fill each cell 

 brim full and the cover or capping rests 

 immediately on the honey. This has 

 an effect similar to that produced by 

 laying a white paper on a dish full of 

 oil, making the otherwise white wax 

 appear dark. All the difference seems 

 to be in the appearance of things; unless, j 

 perhaps, a little more wax is used by the ' 

 Carniolans and Blacks in sealing up. We 

 wish our comb-honey to present the best 

 possible appearance, and so the slight 

 difference means quite a little to the 

 bee-keeper. It m^ans dollars and cents. 

 It is true there ii;, a slight difference be- 

 tween individual colonies, even of the 

 same race; some will cap whiter than 

 others; but the Italians fall away behind, 

 sometimes showing very unsightly 

 combs, althSugh the honey itself may be 



