18 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 



silvery rings is produced, and by continued selection in breeding the 

 gentle disposition of the Carniolans can be secured with the greater 

 honey-gathering powers of Cyprians should these be employed in form- 

 ing the new strain. 



German, common black, or brown bees. These bees are found com- 

 monly throughout our country from ocean to ocean, botU wild and 

 domesticated. Exactly when they were introduced from Europe is not 

 known, but considerable evidence exists which shows that there were 

 no hive bees ( Apis mellifera) in this country for some time after the first 

 colonies were established; also, it was not until near the close of the 

 last century that they reached the Mississippi, and less than half a 

 century has passed since the first were successfully landed on the Pacific 

 Coast. 



Many bee keepers, having more attractively colored and frequently 

 better bees, are inclined to consider this race as possessing hardly any 

 redeeming qualities, or at least to underrate these because accompanied 

 by undesirable traits. While it is true that they have some serious 

 faults, the latter are not so great as those of some other races. They 

 have become thoroughly acclimated since their first importation, over 

 two centuries ago, and besides possessing good wintering and comb- 

 building qualities, they will, when the flow of honey is quite abundant, 

 generally equal Italians in gathering. But the disposition which bees 

 of this race have of flying toward one who approaches the apiary and 

 stinging him, even though the hives have not been molested, their way 

 of running excitedly over the combs and dropping in bunches when 

 tl"y are handled, besides stinging the backs of the operator's hands, 

 unless the whole colony has first been thoroughly subdued and the 

 bees induced to gorge themselves with honey, or are constantly deluged 

 with smoke, are very annoying to the novice who undertakes to per- 

 form necessary manipulations with them, and may even so discourage 

 and daunt him as to cause the neglect of work of great importance 

 to the welfare of the colony. The easy discouragement of bees of this 

 race when a sudden check in the flow of honey occurs is also a pecul- 

 iarity which does not commend them. These things, tending to reduce 

 profits, often dampen the beginner's enthusiasm before he has acquired 

 the knowledge and skill necessary to make the work genuinely success- 

 ful. He had therefore better choose either Italians or Carniolans, and 

 use as breeders only queens that are known to have mated purely. 



The common race shows considerable variation in its markings and 

 qualities. The workers have a dull, rusty brown color, especially about 

 the thorax. Some strains are however much darker than others and 

 in general the drones are darker than the workers. In size workers, 

 drones, and queens of this race are intermediate between the other 

 European races and those from the Orient. The same care and skill 

 applied in the selection of breeding stock would result in as great im- 

 provement in this as in any of the more attractive yellow races. 



