226 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



November 



I crossed into Persia iu order to com- 

 pare the Persian bees \^■itll our bees of 

 Lenkoran. I was not, liowever, able/ 

 to penetrate very far into that country. 

 Nevertheless I saw what I wished to 

 see, and I do not doubt the facts which 

 I noted. 



At Astor, a village situated on the 

 frontier, half of which belongs to Rus- 

 sia and the other half to Persia, I 

 had an opportunity to observe that the 

 Persian bees do not differ in any way 

 from the Lenkoranian. At Enzeli, Per- 

 sia, they are the same as at Kesht in 

 Russia. In Enzeli I had the good for- 

 tune to meet a great lover of bees, an 

 Armenian merchant, Mr. Paronianz. 

 Proifiting by his hospitality and our 

 conversations, I succeeded in finding 

 out all I wished to know witliout let- 

 ting him see what interested me par- 

 ticularly. Over the dessert, prepared 

 from excellent honey gathered from 

 the orange and lemon trees which are 

 found in the court yard of every Per- 

 sian house, as in the great garden of 

 the Kahn, planted in former times by 

 Catholic monks, we conversed about 

 bees and then about politics. Mr. 

 Paronianz has quite a trade and makes 

 frequent voyages to the south of Per- 

 sia which has given him an opportun- 

 ity of seeing things which I was not 

 able to see myself. This has been all 

 the easier for him, as he does not neg- 

 lect the purchase of wax in the cities 

 and villages of Persia, which he sells 

 in Russia and even more distant coun- 

 tries. 



The fact is that I was able to satisfy 

 myself that the variety which inter- 

 ested me is. found all over Persia. 

 Only it does not get there at all from 

 Lenkoran, but spreads out in all di- 

 rections from the central part of Per- 

 sia. Thus to be accurate, this variety 

 should have been called, not "bees of 

 I^nkoran," nor "Lenkoranian bees'' 

 but "Persian bees," in order, so to say, 

 to dignify and emphasize their south- 

 ern or centi'al origin. 



In consequence of natural and arti- 

 ficial multiplication, as well as trans- 

 portation into the northern and north- 

 western regions, this variety lias 

 readied the steppes of Mughan and 

 the banks of the Aras River, preserv- 

 ing its type in all its purity. Beyond 

 these limits it mixes with other vari- 

 eties and loses its color and its origi- 

 nal character. 



The queens of the Persian race are 

 rather large, well proportioned, beauti- 

 ful, and of a fine yellow color over the 



whole abdomen. They become partic- 

 ularly beautiful at the time of greatesi 

 egg-laying, when\ the abdomen en- 

 larges considerably. I did not noticf 

 that the queens are shy like those oJ 

 other varieties; they are distinguishecl 

 besides by especial fecundity, and an 

 able to produce powerful colonies. 



The males of this variety are equal 

 ly as large as the males of the grai 

 variety, but may be distinguished froii' 

 the latter by the small orange-colore< 

 dots and rather large yellow blotchei 

 under the wings and on the sides o 

 the thorax and of the abdomen. L 

 other respects' these males are th' 

 same as those of other varieties. 



The Persian workers are not in th 

 least smaller than our gray Georgia: 

 bees, but are remarkable for thei 

 beauty and their vivacity. The firs 

 four segments of the upper part of th 

 abdomen are of a vivitl orange coloi 

 while the coat of fuzz, the abdomei 

 and the thorax, are of a clear yello\» 

 The thorax above and where the fuz 

 is longest and thickest is of a ver 

 pleasing yellow shade. On combs 

 white lioney, if held toward the sui 

 tliese bees are of a very brilliant col( 

 the whole length of the abdomen, an 

 appear transparent. Unfortunately 

 was not able to take the exact dimei 

 sions of the cells, nor the measui 

 of the parts of the body of the Pe 

 sian bee. 



As to the qualities and character ' 

 this race, we were able to ascerta 

 that they are noteworthy on accou! 

 of their adroitness and strength, b' 

 also by a great disposition toward ro 

 bing. The Persians defend themselv 

 bravely when attacke<l. Their stinj 

 are more painful than those of oth 

 bees, and are nearly insupportable 

 the spring. In viciousness the Pe 

 sian differs little from the Russif 

 (the northern variety), but appea 

 almost as though more vicious. Ho'» 

 ever, there are among their coloni 

 as among the colonies of other kkind 

 some families that are gentle enoug 

 The Persians are vei'y sensitive 

 noises — to the sound of the voice, 

 an uproar in the apiary. They do n 

 like to have their brood-nest disa 

 ranged, even during the chief harves 

 when bees are generally better n 

 tured. This bad quality renders the 

 cultivation difficult. They do not t) 

 come much accustomed to him wl 

 cares for them. What irritates the 

 most is the light that enters the hi 

 at the moment the brood-nest is e 



