122 



April, 1913 



Conducted by J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy. Ontario. 



Noxious Weeds as Honey-Producers 



On page 46 of the February issue, is 

 given a list of noxious weeds banned 

 by the State of Iowa, with the state- 

 ment that none of them, fortunately, 

 are honey-producers. Mr. Editor, you 

 had better scrutinize that list again. 

 What about wild mustard ? If it is the 

 same mustard that grows here in the 

 grain fields, that weed is a fine honey- 

 yielder, as many bee-keepers will be 

 ready to attest. Then what about 

 milkweed ? Here is one of our most 

 profuse yielders of nectar; but in most 

 localities it is not plentiful enough to 

 cut much of a figure in the surplus. 



It takes quite a heavy toll of bees, 

 while they are working on the plant, 

 owing to the peculiar glutinous, stringy 

 pollen ; yet I would be glad to have a 

 few hundred acres within reach of my 

 bees, as the one locality where it is 

 plentiful always thrives when it is in 

 bloom. Then what about the much 

 maligned Canada thistle ? While we 

 do not cultivate this plant, neverthe- 

 less where it is plentiful enough to be 

 of any account for the bees, it yields 

 the most delightfully flavored honey 

 that can be produced, and its color is 

 in keeping with the flavor — very light. 



At the Lovering yard, illustrated in 

 the February issue, the thistles are 

 plentiful in the rich bottom land that 

 surrounds the apiary, and last season 

 they blossomed freely when basswood 

 was in bloom. The resultant honey is 

 a blend of basswood and thistle, and 

 we are using it on our table in prefer- 

 ence to any other; in fact, Mrs. Byer, 

 who is very particular as to the honey 

 she uses, declares it has spoiled all 

 chances of her ever preferring any 

 other honey. A number of friends 

 who have been at ourplace this winter, 

 declare it tastes like the "bumble-bee 

 honey they used to have when they 

 were young." To all who were brought 

 up on the farm, it will be needless to 

 describe what they mean by the phrase, 

 as it has to be realized to understand 

 the descriotion. 



A Honey House 



As the building used at the home 

 apiary was very old, the foundation 

 rotten, and the roof beginning to leak, 

 I decided a year ago to put up a new 

 building. Being very busy, and unable 

 to get dry lumber, I decided to build 

 the house of corrugated iron. This 

 iron is painted red, and is sold by 

 manufacturers of metal roofing and 

 kindred goods. The shingles are also 

 metallic, and painted the same color as 

 the siding. How it will last remains 

 to be seen, but if kept well painted I 

 am told that the metal will stand the 

 weather for a long time. It may be 

 asked, is it not hot to work in it dur- 

 ing warm weather? We have found 



no trouble from that source when the 

 windows are all open, as is the case 

 when extracting. The windows are 

 large, 24x30; there are two in the west 

 side, one in the east side, in both ends, 

 and we get all the breeze there is. 

 When the windows are closed, and the 



with 8 feet siding, and the cost, no 

 counting gravel for floor and walls, 

 was about $60. This includes all labor 

 except the hauling of the gravel and 

 two days' work when I helped to lay 

 the floor and do a little excavating for 

 the walls. 



Picture Xo. 1 shows the west side of 

 the building ; the trees on the south 

 side are Norway spruce that have been- 

 trimmed up about 25 feet, to allow the 

 sun to shine in the yard. The other 

 picture shows the east side, next to the 

 bees. As will be noticed, the window 

 on this side is a long way from the 

 door — a very desirable feature in any 

 honey house, as the bees do not bother 



A Metal Bee-House. 



A Corner of Mr. Bver's Apiary. 



weather hot — well, it is a good place 

 then to keep extracted honey. 



The windows are screened on the 

 outside, the screens being removable. 

 Inside they are closed with a sliding 

 panel, and bee-escapes can be placed 

 in frame of outside screens as desired. 

 The foundation is of concrete, and the 

 floor is also of the same material, so 

 there is no danger of the floor break- 

 ing through. The building is 14x20, 



around the door so much, being at- 

 tracted to the screened windows. In- 

 deed, when the windows are all opened 

 a bee seldom tries to get in the door, 

 even if we are extracting during a 

 dearth. , Owing to the corrugations in 

 the siding, it was necessary to put beam 

 filling of cement concrete mixed fine 

 along the plate at the top and along the 

 sills at the bottom, to prevent bees 

 from getting in the openings. If plain 



