BEES 



587 



their management by any who are not 

 experts extremely difiBcult. 



Cyprio-Caniiolans and Cyprio-Caucas- 

 ians. — Bees combining the blood of the 

 first two races in various proportions 

 have been tested for years in comparison 

 with all other known races, with the re- 

 sult that the cross mentioned above has 

 been found to exceed all of the pure races 

 in honey-gathering powers, owing un- 

 doubtedly to the combination of great en- 

 ergy, hardiness, prolificness, and wing- 

 power, as well as greater length of tongue 

 — a fact established by actual measure- 

 ments. Similar results, with even greater 

 gentleness, may be expected from the 

 cross obtained between Cyprian queens 

 and Caucasian drones. 



Syrian and Palestine or "Holy-Land" 

 Bees. — What has been said of Cyprians 

 may be taken to apply in a general sense 

 to Syrian and Palestine bees, except that 

 in these the good qualities are slightly 

 less prominent, while some of the bad 

 ones of the Cyprians are accentuated. 



German, Common Black, or Brown Bees. 

 — The bees commonly found wild, and 

 cultivated to a greater or less extent, in 

 this country, and known under the above 

 name, are probably derived from early in- 

 troductions from the Old World. In com- 

 parison with the races above enumerated, 

 they may be said to be inferior, since 

 they possess the least energy in honey 

 collecting, are less prolific, and not as 

 good defenders of their hives. Under 

 favorable conditions, however, as regards 

 pasturage they may be relied upon for 

 excellent results. They are, however, 

 spiteful under manipulation, and have the 

 disagreeable habit of running from the 

 combs and dropping in bunches on the 

 ground, likewise or flying from the hive 

 entrance and attacking passers-by. They 

 are more easily discouraged than other 

 bees during slack times as regards honey 

 production, and this is doubtless the main 

 reason for their generally inferior eco- 

 nomic value. 



What Hive to Adopt 



The suspended Langstroth frame is 

 used more than any other frame among 

 English-speaking bee keepers. There being 



I'jut'nn* * / jittrnitiiintiK^ 



Fig. 4. Langstroth Hive with Two Halt-depth 

 Supers for Surplus Honey. 



no patent on the Langstroth hive, and 

 accurately made hives being obtainable at 

 moderate prices from hive factories in 

 various parts of the country, it is taken 

 for granted that the enterprising begin- 

 ner will adopt a simple form embodying 

 this principle — the loose-fitting, suspend- 

 ed comb frame — as its main feature. The 

 hive should not only be substantially 

 built, hut should have accurate bee spaces 

 and a close-fitting, rainproof cover or roof. 

 Factory-made hives, as a rule, best meet 

 these requirements, as both lock joints 

 and halved corners can only be made to 

 advantage by machinery, and the expert 

 hive builder understands, of course, the 

 absolute necessity of great accuracy in 

 bee spaces, as well as the great desirabil- 

 ity of good material and workmanship. 

 Provision should also be made for winter 

 protection. 



For comb honey, hives permitting the 

 insertion in the brood apartment of any 

 number of frames up to eight, or fre- 

 quently up to ten, are most in use. In 

 securing extracted honey, those with ten 

 to 12 frames in each story are preferable, 

 and as many stories, one above the other, 

 are employed as the strength of the col- 

 ony and a given harvest may require. A 

 construction, therefore, which readily ad- 



