540 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



with American Foul Brood, except two colonies, and had placed his empty 

 hives containing the diseased honey outside or above his bee shed, as he 

 said, "so the bees would clean out the honey easier." You can imagine 

 something of the conditions in that locality. Every colony of bees for miles 

 around was diseased. I believe the beekeepers can help themselves if they 

 will by showing the danger of exposing honey containers so bees may 

 reach them. For we never know where a drop or so of diseased honey is 

 going to be exposed. 



I believe another good way of preventing disease might be in introduc- 

 ing queens, by taking away the attendant bees from the cages before in- 

 troducing the queen. I believe the introduction of the queen might also 

 be safer in doing this, for the queen would be the only stranger among 

 strangers and there would not be as much antagonism to the queen as 

 though she had ten or twenty attendants. 



There is no sure way of telling whether a colony has disease by outside 

 observation except when the disease is in an advanced stage when you can 

 plainly smell it at the entrance of the hive. 



Truly the old saying is a good one to observe with bee diseases, "An 

 ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." 



While waiting for the adjustment of the lantern for an illustrated lec- 

 ture, Mr. Dadant was called upon to tell something of his recent visit to 

 Quebec. He spoke as follows: 



TRIP THROUGH QUEBEC. 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



We received an invitation from the Quebec Beekeepers Association, 

 which is composed mostly of French Canadians. We left home on the 2d 

 of November and returned on the 15th. This gave us but a short trip, so 

 we had time to visit only four or five of the leading apiarists. We learned a 

 number of interesting things, but did not secure much practical informa- 

 tion. Here are some of the interesting things. 



When we arrived in the City of Quebec, we called one of the leadinig 

 beekeepers on the telephone. He came with his auto and took us to visit 

 several other beekeepers. I found that in many places they use a much 

 larger hive than is in common use in the United States, some of their 

 hives containing twelve and thirteen Langstroth frames. 



In lower Quebec, the season is short, the crop beginning as late as the 

 20th of June and closing by the first of August. The Italian bees do not 

 prove very satisfactory because of this short season and the coolness of 

 the mornings and evenings. These bees are accustomed to rise early and 

 retire late, in a sunny climate, and to breed too late in the season. As 

 soon as the sun begins to warm up they breed plentifully and many bees 

 get lost by being out too early in the day or too late at night. By the first 

 of August, when the crop is over, the common bees prepare for winter, 

 while the Italians continue their breeding, using up their honey, so that 

 they have to be fed for winter, while the other bees have enough. But 



