26 VARIETIES OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



said to be the best-tempered and gentlest of all bees, 

 so long as they do not mix too much with their 

 English neighbours. But that which makes them 

 most valuable is not their good 

 looks, but their activity and in- 

 dustry. They are early risers, and 

 will be at work before the other 

 bees are out of their hives ; and 

 will continue to work in the fields 

 and gardens later in the evening. 

 They will also work longer into 



,, ,. „ the cold weather of autumn, and 



Italian Bee. 



at other times when most bees 

 keep within dOors. This is a very good character to 

 give them — is it not? — early risers, hard workers, 

 good-tempered. They are, I think, quite the sort 

 of friends we should try to make. 



Then, again, amongst the other varieties of which 

 I spoke, there are some, of which probably many 

 more than at present will be kept in England before 

 long. The Syrian, for instance, is a very valuable 

 race of bees. They are smaller than the Italian, but 

 are marked in very much the same fashion. Unfor- 

 nately, however, they are very bad-tempered. This 

 also is the character of the bees from the island of 

 Cyprus ; which, however, notwithstanding their angry 

 dispipsition, some say are the best of all bees. 



A well-known bee-keeper went to Cyprus in 1 882, 

 taking the long voyage for the purpose of bringing 

 home to England a great many of these bees. He 

 tells us how, after much trouble, he bought forty hives 

 in one place, and carried them a long way over rough 



