'222 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



THE A.I>IA.RY. 



The practical roanagement of the Apiary, as heretofore, has been satisfactorily 

 carried on by Mr. John Fixter, the Farm Foreman. The interest shown in the Apiary 

 has been very encouraging ; large nuMibers of visitors have examined it, who have been 

 gratified by the attention shown them and by the explanations given in all matters con- 

 nected with bee-keeping. One experiment was particularly observed, namely, what has 

 been called the " House Apiary." This is treated of by Mr. Fixter in his report 

 appended hereto. Many of the experiments begun in former seasons have been 

 continued ; but those on wax foundations were not taken up this year. In addition to 

 the explanations given to visitors, two valuable addresses were delivered by Mr. Fixter 

 to the students of the Ottawa Normal School upon the subject of bee-keeping, and he 

 also attended two meetings of Farmers' Institutes, one at Russell Village, Russell County, 

 Ont., and the other at Bell's Corners, Carleton County, Ont., at both of which the 

 directors of the institutes requested that the subject of bee-keeping should be brought 

 up. 



The season at Ottawa, with reference to bee-keeping, has been a very remarkable 

 one. Although in June there was a good amount of blossom on flowering plants, bee- 

 keepers in the district were all surprised to find how little honey was stored by their 

 bees. 



Notes are being taken, with the dates, of the diflereut kinds of flowers which are 

 attractive to bees, and will be published at some future date. The Breaking Buckthorn, 

 or, as it is more generally known, the Alder Buckthorn {Rkamn-n,s Frangula), was 

 noticed to be particularly visited and for a very long period by bees. A supply of the 

 seed of this shrub was, therefore, collected and distributed to all bee-keepers who asked 

 for it before the supply was exhausted. 



The condition of the Apiary I consider quite satisfactory, and it is a branch of the 

 Farm work which is growing in popularity from year to year (a fact, it must be stated, 

 almost entirely due to Mr. Fixter's skill and good management). 



Results op the Work of the Season. 



On August 28th all the supers were removed from our hives, when 212 partly filled 

 sections were found. This was all the surplus honey svhich had been made during the 

 year, and the whole of this was returned to the bees for their winter sustenance. It 

 should also be mentioned that not only has there been an entire lack of surplus honey, 

 but the bees have also failed to swarm, so that the number of colonies was not increased. 

 These results appear the more extraordinary when we consider the large quantities of 

 honey made per colony during the past two years. In 1895 the average was 54 sections 

 per colony, and in 1896 it was 50 sections, besides 16 lbs. ^ oz. of extracted honey pei- 

 colony, all having been under the same management and care. There seems to have 

 been an unusual deficiency of nectar in the flowers. The bees worked industriously, but 

 were barely able to accumulate enough for their own subsistence, [ndeed it was neces- 

 sary to supplement their stores with considerable quantities of sugar in order to keep 

 them supplied. 



This discouraging condition of affairs prevailed all over the eastern parts of Ontario. 

 In the western parts of that province better results are reported. 



The following extracts from letters received will show the peculiarity of the season 

 of 1897, in the Ottawa district: — 



"Ottawa, January 7, 1898. — As you are probably aware last season was one of the 

 most peculiar, if not the most peculiai*, in the history of bee-keeping in this section of 

 Canada. 



