EGYPTIANS 17 



up rapidly in spring and are said *to be less inclined to swarm 

 than the Carniolans. 



Mr. T. W. Livingstone of Leslie, Georgia, had Banats, 

 exclusively, in his apiaries and regarded them highly. He 

 reported them as very gentle, building up early in spring and 

 rearing brood all season. 



Tunisian or Punic Bees. 



This is a black race coming from the north coast of Africa. 

 Although given a trial in America they did not meet with favor 

 and none are now present in this country so far as known. They 

 are bad propolizers, extremely cross, and do not winter well. 

 They seem to have been lately given a trial in Scotland. Mr. 

 John Anderson of the North Scotland College of Agriculture, 

 writing in the Irish Bee Journal, October, 1917, says of them 

 that they have some very desirable characteristics, and some 

 that are inconvenient. He mentions the case of a beekeeper 

 who depends solely on honey production for a livelihood (which 

 is unusual in Great Britain), who increased forty colonies to four 

 hundred and harvested two-and-one-half tons of honey in one 

 season without feeding any sugar. Mr. Anderson regards the 

 Punic bee as worthy of more attention than it has received. 



Egyptians. 



Bees have been kept in a primitive way for centuries in 

 Egypt. The Egyptian bees resemble Italians in color, with an 

 additional coat of white hairs. They are said to breed purely 

 and not be inclined to mate with other races. They are some- 

 what smaller than the European races, and build somewhat 

 smaller cells in their combs. They are reported to be cross 

 and not easily subdued by smoke. Since they do not form a 

 winter cluster, they are not fitted to withstand severe weather. 

 They are said to rear large numbers of drones, and to develop 

 fertile workers in abundance. They are not likely to prove of 

 any value in America. In fact, they were introduced soon 



