18 MANUAL OF APICULTURE. 
silvery rings is produced, and by continued selection in breeding the 
gentle disposition of the Carniolans can be secured with the greater 
honey-gathering powers of Cyprians should these be employed in form- 
ing the new strain. 
German, common black, or brown bees.—These bees are found com- 
monly throughout our country from ocean to ocean, both wild and 
domesticated. Exactly when they were introduced from Europe is not 
known, but considerable evidence exists which shows that there were 
no hive bees (Apis meliifica) in this country for some time after the first 
colonies were established; also, it was not until near the close of the 
last century that they reached the Mississippi, and less than half a 
century has passed since the first were successfully landed on the Pacific 
Coast. 
Many bee keepers, having more attractively colored and frequently 
better bees, are inclined to consider this race as possessing hardly any 
redeeming qualities, or at least to underrate these because accompanied 
by undesirable traits. While it is true that they have some serious 
faults, the latter are not so great as those of some other races. They 
have become thoroughly acclimated since their first importation, over 
two centuries ago, and besides possessing good wintering and comb- 
building qualities, they will, when the flow of honey is quite abundant, 
generally equal Italians in gathering. But the disposition which bees 
of this race have of flying toward one who approaches the apiary and 
stinging him, even though the hives have not been molested, their way 
of running excitedly over the combs and dropping in bunches when 
they are handled, besides stinging the backs of the operator’s hands, 
unless the whole colony has first been thoroughly subdued and the 
bees induced to gorge themselves with honey, or are constantly deluged 
with smoke, are very annoying to the novice who undertakes to per- 
form necessary manipulations with them, and may even so discourage 
and daunt him as to cause the neglect of work of great importance 
to the welfare of the colony. The easy discouragement of bees of this 
race when a sudden check in the flow of honey occurs is also a pecul- 
iarity which does not commend them. These things, tending to reduce _ 
profits, often dampen the beginner’s enthusiasm before he has acquired 
the knowledge and skill necessary to make the work genuinely success- 
ful. He had therefore better choose either Italians or Carniolans, and 
use as breeders only queens that are known to have mated purely. 
The common race shows considerable variation in its markings and 
qualities. The workers have a dull, rusty brown color, especially about 
the thorax. Some strains are however much darker than others and 
in general the drones are darker than the workers. In size workers, 
drones, and queens of this race are intermediate between the other 
European races and those from the Orient. The same care and skill 
applied in the selection of breeding stock would result in as great im- 
provement in this as in any of the more attractive yellow races. 
