RACES OF BEES 109 
capping. If this was their only defect I could 
forgive them; but it is not, for while admitting 
the prolificacy of the queens, my pure stocks 
never attained the strength nor did they show. 
results equal to my. blacks. This I lay entirely. 
to the delicacy of the adult bees, which caused 
their death-rate to be far Higher than with other 
colonies. They do not seem to be sufficiently, 
hardy for our fickle Northern climate, but I firmly. 
believe in their great value for crossing with and 
improving the native race. 
Carniolans are bees very similar in appearance 
to our own, and by many would be taken for 
such. They have, however, a more greyish ap- 
pearance, and are much quieter in disposition than 
brown bees. Their queens are very prolific, and 
the workers are energetic and build splendid sec- 
tions. Their worst defect is that they are in- 
veterate swarmers, but, like Italians, they are very 
valuable for crossing purposes. 
All these Eastern races have the swarming trait 
very. strongly developed, and this feature causes 
considerable trouble to’ their owners, for if left 
unchecked some colonies will swarm while there is 
a pint of bees left in the hive. 
Coming to our own brown bee, which is not a 
pure race at all, I do not consider that it can be 
beaten, provided that.a good strain is secured. 
They are not so gentle as the foreign bees, I 
admit, but they are good workers, fairly prolific, 
and do excellent work on sections. A good strain 
4 
