105 
dearth, due to easy discouragement when a honey flow slackens. 
They defend their colonies less energetically than various other types. 
 Spitefulness and a ready disposition to fly at passers-by, as well as to 
resent greatly any manipulation of the combs, are among their unde- 
sirable traits. 
[talians.—These are more active, more prolific, much gentler under 
manipulation, defend their hives better against various bee enemies, 
and in general are better economic managers. 
Cyprian and other Hastern types.—The record for the largest yield 
of honey ever obtained from a single colony is held by the Cyprians. 
This is due to a combination of certain excellent traits, such as great 
prolificness, relatively great wing power, most wonderful energy in 
honey collecting, rapid breeding in early spring, persistent and con- 
tinuous field work, even though the return at times be somewhat slow, 
together with the best possible defense of the hive against enemies 
which may tend to reduce its effective force. With these traits the 
Cyprians combine, however, a degree of irascibility which renders 
their general introduction as a pure type inadvisable. Their disposi- 
tion to produce laying workers is also great, and operates against 
them. Another feature, which conderans them for the production of 
comb honey of the very highest finish, is the tendency which they 
have of filling the individual cells quite to the brim with honey, so 
that the wax cap rests flat upon the liquid and presents, therefore, a 
soaked or watery appearance instead of the clear snow-white surface 
which certain other races give to their finished combs. The other 
eastern types possess the same general characteristics, yet the excel- 
lent traits here indicated are inthe main less pronounced with them. 
Carniolans.—These are radically different from the bees just under 
consideration, both in appearance and characteristics. Large-bodied, 
gray in color, somewhat droning in flight, they present a great con- 
trast to the slender, yellow, and nimbie-winged Cyprians. The Car- 
niolans, having reached their development in an elevated Alpine 
region, are distinguished for great hardiness, the individual workers 
bemg able to stand a considerably lower tentperature than those of 
the next hardiest type—the blacks. The queens are very prolific, 
and early brood-rearing is the rule, so that the decimation of colonies, 
so noticeable with blacks and Italians of pure blood, is reduced to a 
minimum when only pure Carniolans are present. They possess the 
excellent pecularity of capping their combs in such a manner as to 
give them a snowy-white and very attractive appearance. The 
amount of propolis, or bee glue, gathered by them is small; hence the 
tendency to daub sections and combs is less than with any other type. 
Their disposition is most excellent, enabling anyone to handle them 
easily by the use of a small amount of smoke. 
Caucastans.—These bees have hardly been tested sufficiently to 
