February, 1913. 



American Hee Journal 



as a near friend, and our most sincere 

 sympathy is extended to tlie bereaved 

 family. 



The Weather — Prospects 



Tlie winter liere in Ontario, to date 

 (Jan. 11), has been warmer than the 

 average, and much warmer than last 

 year. Only once (Jan.il) has it been 

 real cold, that day being the hrst that 

 zero was reached. For a few hours it 

 was 1.5 degrees below, but it gradually 

 moderated, and the next day it was 2') 

 degrees warmer. Of course, the winter 

 is " young " yet, and we may get enough 

 cold weather before March. Judging 

 by outward conditions the bees appear 

 to be wintering nicely, and barring un- 

 foreseen developments, I look for fair 

 wintering in general, wherever bees 

 were properly fed in the fall. 



Mr. Byek's "Lovering Yard.' 



them out again in April, and he always 

 wintered successfully. 



At the present time I have 250 colo- 

 nies some 200 miles from my home, all 

 wintering in three caves side by side, 

 and nothing will be done in the way of 

 ventilation from the time they were put 

 in until they come out in the spring. 

 While I cannot say how they will come 

 out, I shall be well satisfied if they win- 

 ter as well as they did for the past 

 two seasons, when practically every 

 colony came out in perfect condition. 

 Of course, I am well aware that the 

 majority of winter repositories are not 

 adapted to a let-alone plan like that, 

 and in most cases if a man is near his 

 bees, he can help matters along by 

 judiciously giving fresh air at night, 

 during the last six weeks of the bees' 

 confinement. 



As to outdoor wintering, here in our 

 locality, I seldom trouble myself even 

 if snow does pile up around the hives 

 in January and February — indeed, if 

 the weather is rnd cold, the more snow 

 the better. On rare occasions we get 

 a day in February when our bees can 

 fly, and then, of course, I like to have 

 the entrances clear if possible. 



To beginners I would say, do not 

 disturb the bees in the least by lifting 

 covers, packing, etc., at this time of the 

 year, as you cannot do the bees any 

 good, and may do them a lot of harm. 

 *-•-♦ 



An Interesting Picture 



A spendid picture that on pages 18 

 and lil of the January American Bee 

 Journal. Quite a number of the men 

 shown there have at different times 

 written to me, and while I have met 

 but few if any of them face to face, a 

 chance of looking at pictures is really 

 the next best thing to having a hand 

 shake. Not a bad looking bunch, 

 either — really, they compare pretty 

 well with an " Ontario crowd." 



While on the subject of pictures, I 

 might add that the one on page 13, en- 

 titled a "Michigan girl," certainly 

 shows " nerve," as Mr. Miller says. But 

 what does Miss Wilson mean when 

 she says the proximity of the man may 



have something to do with the bravery 

 displayed ? While we know the dear 

 creatures are "confiding," surely no 

 woman could expect a man standing 

 so fai- a:c'ay as the one in the pictufe. 



Mice— First Trials at Photography 



Some time ago I mentioned the 

 necessity of being on the lookout for 

 mice that are apt to bother bees win- 

 tered on the summer stands. In our 

 own case this matter is generally looked 

 after pretty well, as sad experience has 



" Asleep "-Another View of Mr. Byer's Ai'Iarv. 

 Mr. Byer tells us a deer was shot in the middle o( the apiary last fall. 



to keep away cross bees. No, I main- 

 tain that the "Michigan girl" is entit- 

 led to all the credit, for if the man was 

 duly interested in her welfare, he would 

 be close enough to " swat the bee " 

 should one be disposed to sting her. 



Tribute to Paul Mickwitz 



It is a long time since the death no- 

 tice of any bee-keeping friend came so 

 unexpectedly and gave me such a shock 

 as that of friend Mickwitz, in the Jan- 

 uary American Bee Journal. While he 

 was with us in our home but a 

 few days, in some way he seemed at 

 once to gain the affections of every 

 member of our family, and we have 

 often spoken of his visit, in the family 

 circle. Since he went back to Finland 

 we have had more or less correspond- 

 ence, and his letters were always a 

 pleasure to read. We mourn for him 



taught us that one or two " deer mice " 

 can do a lot of harm during the winter 

 season. When leaving the Lovering 

 yard last fall (100 miles from home), a 

 careful look failed to show the signs of 

 any mice, but as a precaution, several 

 traps were placed under the covers of 

 the packing-cases. During the last 

 week in January, the friend on whose 

 place the bees are, wrote me that the 

 " deer " or " wood " mice had come to 

 the apiary in large numbers during the 

 past few days. As there were single 

 fares on the railroads, I decided to 

 take a run up there and have a look for 

 myself, and while I found conditions 

 not as bad as I expected, still quite a 

 few mice were in the traps. I placed 

 oatmeal and strychnine in shallow 

 boxes on top of the packing, and I 

 think all mice troubles will be settled 

 for the present. 



As I had just boughta camera, I took 



LEWIS BEEWARE MEANS 



GOOD QUALITY, SCIEN- 

 TIFIC WORKMANSHIP 

 CAREFUL PACKING 

 EFFICIENT SERVICE 



Send for Annual Ciitnlop; ^vliicli vtill tell 

 you ^vho is your nearest Distributer. 

 (». B. IjeivlM C'ouipnn:t't Watertown, AVls. 



