20 A. AND M. COLLEGE APIARY. 



the dropping of a tool upon the frames, is often sufficient to send a veri- 

 table swarm out on the operator. Even without any apparent aggrava- 

 tion whatever they will sometimes fly out in this way in a sudden attack. 

 In entering or leaving the hive the flight is quicker than that of the 

 Italian, and is jerky and fidgety in its nature. In ordinary flight, also, 

 the tone or hum of the wings seems to be of a higher pitch than that of 

 other races. Being of a combative temperament, this race is especially 

 capable of protecting itself against robbers, whether bees, human, or 

 otherwise. Every bee as he alights at the entrance of the hive is at once 

 pounced upon by the guards and critically examined before being allowed 

 to proceed into the hive. The Cyprian is a prolific -breeder, this being a 

 marked advantage in some localities. 



For the expert bee keeper who has nothing in view but the size of his 

 honey crop, and in a climate like that of Southwest Texas, and for him 

 who enjoys stings in abundance, the Cyprians will be found well adapted. 

 The fact that they are not susceptible of rapid manipulation/and there- 

 fore require more time, is in the opinion of some a drawback that more 

 than offsets their advantages as honey gatherers. Messrs. 0. P. Hyde & 

 Sons, of Floresville, Texas, who have experimented extensively with them, 

 state that they have equaled and in many cases exceeded the yields given 

 by the Italians. The Cyprians were first imported from the Isle of 

 Cyprus and are regarded as being descended from the same stock as the 

 Italians, but owing to their isolation have developed traits distinct from 

 those exhibited by the Italians from the mainland. 



Holy Land Bees. The Holy Lands are a comparatively recent intro- 

 duction into this country and have not as yet been extensively studied or 

 tested. They come originally from the vicinity of Jerusalem and doubt- 

 less, judging from their appearance and habits, are also descended from 

 the same original stock as the Italians and Cyprians. While, however, 

 the development of the Cyprian branch has been towards a vindictive 

 temperament, the development of the Holy Land has been towards a 

 marked docility.. Nor do the Holy Lands seem to be as closely related 

 to the Italians as do the Cyprians, for they are smaller and darker 

 in color, being in fact of almost an ashy appearance Especially when 

 clustered on a comb is this ashy appearance very noticeable. According 

 to Mr. W. H. Laws, of Beeville, Texas, who uses them almost exclusively 

 in his honey apiaries, and who rears many hundreds of Holy Land queens 

 annually, they are more prolific breeders than Italians and at the close of 

 a honey flow will continue breeding for some time, gradually decreasing 

 their operations in this direction. After finally suspending brood rear- 

 ing for some time, they will again resume, even "though no honey is to be 

 had in the fields, rearing their" larvae entirely from honey stored the pre- 

 vious season. In localities where honey flows alternate with periods of 

 absolute absence of forage for the bees, this point is of immense advan- 

 tage as the strength of the colony is kept up and they are better prepared 

 for work when the honey flow arrives. They can be handled easily with 

 only a small amount of smoke and in many cases with none at all. Those 

 of direct or recent importation show a more nervous disposition than 

 those which have been bred in this country for several years. 



Italians. The favorite bee with the majority of bee keepers, and espe- 

 cially with Northern bee keepers, is the Italian. This bee comes orig- 



