REPORT OF MR. S. A. BEDFORD 429 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



tionally good, and found ready sale at from 10 to 15 cents per pound for the extracted 

 article. 



The honey of this province is very largely obtained from wild flowers, and seldom 

 varies in quality during the season. Nearly all the surplus is gathered during the 

 months of July and August, the other months yielding only sufficient to keep up 

 breeding. 



Seven additional swarms were hived during the summer. Six of these were July 

 swarms and one in August. All these became strong before winter, and the early July 

 swarms were among the most productive colonies of the year. 



The first extracting was done on July 22, and the first drones were killed on 

 September 9. It is found advisable to place the summer stands among the shelter of 

 trees and only about 4 inches from the ground. This enables the heavy laden bees to 

 reach their hive readily, and saves considerable loss from the sti'ong winds prevailing 

 here. 



Although our winters are usually very long, there is generally verj^ little trouble 

 in wintering bees in this province, providing the cellar is dry and dark and the tem- 

 perature is kept from 35 to 45 degrees. In the fall, before placing the bees in the 

 cellar, the temperature should be carefully ascertained, and unless below 50 • degrees, 

 the bees should not be moved from their summer stand until the cellar has cooled. A 

 high temperature causes uneasiness and much loss. 



HORTICULTURE. 

 GENEKAL KEMAKKS. 



Notwithstanding some drawbacks, the past season has certainly been a favourable 

 one from a horticultural standpoint. The condition of the soil in the spring was fav- 

 ourable to early germination, and early sown vegetables, such as onions, lettuce, &c, 

 progressed rapidly, a necessary essential to success in the case of vegetables requiring a 

 long growing season. During May, we experienced a long spell of hot and dry weather, 

 the thermometer registering as high as 95 degrees Fahr. in the shade. On the evening 

 of May 24, the thermometer dropped to 28 Fahr., but the only noticeable damage from 

 this cause was the curling of the leaves of the Native Ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica 

 lancelolata^) and the Native Oak (Quercus macrocarpa). A continued low temperature 

 from this date culminated in a heavy rainfall on June 3 ( -94 of inch), and, with a still 

 falling temperature, we were visited with another heavy rain on the evening of the 

 5th, which changed during the night to snow, loading the branches of the trees so 

 heavily as to break a considerable number of them, also badly smashing the stems 

 of the talier-growing varieties of herbaceous perennials. The most serious damage in 

 this connection was sustained by the hedges, in many instances the centres being laid 

 open, and pruning had to be exercised judiciously throughout the balance of the seavn 

 in order to overcome the effects. The morning of June 6 was bright, and the snow 

 rapidly disappeared, but unfortunately the thermometer fell in the evening to 27 *5 

 Fahr., seriously reducing a splendid set of plums and crab apples, and totally destroy- 

 ing corn, cucumbers, beans and squash, together with many of the newly bedded annual 

 flowers. 



The remainder of the season was all that could be desired, and the comparatively 

 long, open fall compensated for much of the damage done early in the season, and. as 

 an instance of the wonderful rapidity of growth here, the cucumbers, squash, &c, that 

 were destroyed by frost and resown as late as June 7, produced a large crop early in 

 August, results equal to previous years when sown on May 10. 



All tree seeds germinated well, and a feature of the season was the luxuriant 

 growth made by both fruit and forest trees, some specimens of the native maple (Acer 

 negundo) showing six feet of new wood. 



