62 A Modern Bee-Farm 
largely discarded, as their faults far out-balanced their 
virtues. Hybrids * from these are more vicious than any, 
while both the pure race and the hybrids: have a very bad 
habit of starting fertile workers, either with or without 
a queen. This is a serious matter in any queen-rearing 
apiary. 
Another disadvantage is the fact that they will not 
usually seal their stores when fed up before winter ; and 
comb honey, when capped by them in summer, has a dark 
and watery appearance. 
There is reason to suppose that some of the imported 
Italian queens have been crossed with Cyprian drones, as 
these will sometimes produce workers having all the vices 
of that strain, such as the frequency of fertile workers, 
watery cappings to their comb honey, and the excessive 
use of propolis. Pure Italians should not have these faults, 
being the result of using Cyprian drones. If, however, the 
apiarist has the opportunity of ensuring the mating of 
Cyprian queens with Italian drones of the leather colored 
strain, he will find these troubles less in evidence, while 
the temper of the resulting workers will leave nothing to 
be desired. 
If there is any race almost proof against disease, or that 
can quickly overcome these troubles, it will be found in 
Cyprians. The first cross with pure Ligurian or pure 
Carniolan drones will be found hard-working, gentle and 
prolific. They will also be long-lived and largely free from 
disease, even though it be chronic in the neighbourhood. 
Cyprians have been credited with producing the 
enormous quantity of 1,000 lbs. of honey from a single 
colony in a single seasan. While it is known that 
Cyprians are among the most active in flight, and possess 
* By hybrids, it is generally understood as a term applied to the 
workers produced when natives and any foreign race intermix. 
