THE AMERICAN APICULTVRIST. 



153 



number two leaves the door-yard 

 and comes in contact with the in- 

 terloper, and a case of biting- re- 

 sults. But ferocious number one 

 clings to his position in the yard 

 paying no attention to an}' one and 

 all goes well. Now the tendency 

 to go out of the gate is tlie ciiief 

 factor, etc. Carniolan bees dis- 

 lodge from the comb as easily as 

 any others. Yet they will seldom 

 sting so vve are told. I have seen 

 of this race only half-blood Carni- 

 olan and black bees which could 

 scarcel}' be handled so as to keep 

 on the comb, yet no stings. Have 

 handled pure Cyprians when they 

 wei'e not viciously inclined ; yet 

 the faintest breath, or slightest jar, 

 would nearly clean the comb, and 

 they would fly around me like a 

 swarm. But they would shortly 

 return to the hive without giving 

 me a sting. Have had this occur 

 often. When they do want to 

 sting (Cyprians) the}' dart at me 

 from comb, entrance, or anywhere 

 without waiting to be dislodged. 

 It seems to me there is as much 

 difference between dropping (or 

 jarring) from the comb and dart- 

 ing from it as between running 

 from a thicket like the deer, and 

 springing from it like the panther. 

 With Italians or any other bees 

 while remaining quietly on the 

 combs, you can place and move 

 your hand among them with impu- 

 nity ; and so long as you pinch 

 none, though they cover your 

 hand, none will sting. 



1 am a little surprised that so 

 respected an authority as Dr. Tin- 

 ker should say that the Carniolan 

 is a cross between Cyprians and 

 blacks. How can they be? and 

 why? Carniola is in extreme west- 

 ern Austria. Bees could not of 

 themselves have emigrated over 

 the vast intervening country 

 ridged with many independent 

 systems of high mountains. In 

 the days of Roman supremacy, 



Carniola was out in barbarism; 

 still more so was this the case in 

 earlier days of PluBnician com- 

 merce. Hence there was no chance 

 for transportation. Even if some 

 Cyprians had been transported, 

 the type would have been (jiiickly 

 lost, for a few bees taken among a 

 great many don't make much 

 change. Still again, the predomi- 

 nant feature of Carniolans — gen- 

 tleness — is as hard as ever to ac- 

 count for because it is in excess of 

 that trait in either Cyprian or 

 black. Carniola in west Austria 

 and Lignria in northeastern Italy, 

 the stronghold of Italian or Ligu- 

 rian bees, are closely adjacent. In 

 a state of nature races and species 

 are not formed by crossing, l)ut by 

 variation and natural selection. 

 The Carniolans might be less mod- 

 ified descendanis of the same off- 

 shoot that in Lignria developed 

 still farther into the Italian. Or 

 they may be from another offshoot 

 still. We don't know whether na- 

 ture produced black or yellow bees 

 first. We cannot know the an- 

 swers to any of these questions, 

 and it don't matter much ; for so 

 long as we know correctly the 

 merits and demerits of the bees in 

 our hives to-day, we don't care so 

 much what their ancient progeni- 

 tors were like, unless we can leai-n 

 with some certainty. I beg Bro. 

 Tinker's pardon ; for I don't like 

 to (piestion the views of one whom 

 I regard as vastly better versed in 

 bee matters than myself. 



A close counterpart of the Simp- 

 son honey plant (or Scrnphularia 

 nodosa of the East) grovvs here. 

 It is the Scroplinlaria Californica. 

 It so much resembles the former 

 that I cannot see hew botanists 

 call it another species. In the 

 morning up to sunrise I can shake 

 large drops of honey from the blos- 

 som, by striking it against my 

 hand. Yet bees work on it but 

 sparingly. Hence I am led to 



