February, 1908. 



American ^ee 'Journal 



To make a long story short, it was a 

 matter of impossibility for me to get 

 to the yard to take honey before July 

 4th and 5th. The result was a loss of 

 one filling of nearly 3000 poilnds of 

 honey, estimating, of course, the time 

 lost at the rate the bees were storing 

 honey before and after they were 

 robbed. A loss of a like amount oc- 

 curred at my home-yard, due to ig- 

 norance, or possibly not doing just as 

 I should have done. I had fed my bees 

 for 3 weeks at home during the fearful 

 weather spoken of above, and had a 

 fine lot of brood at the time in the 

 larval state. 



I had a can of about 3 gallons of 

 honey that was 2 years old, and just 

 a little sour. It had been kept in a 

 tin vessel and had grown very dark. 

 The can had the appearance of being 

 very rusty. I examined the honey as 

 to its acidity and rust, and concluded 

 that it was all right to feed to the 

 bees. I put about 2 gallons of water 



to the honey, made a thin syrup and 

 upset it in the feeding-trough, and 2 

 hours later it was all in the hives. 

 There were 85 colonies in this yard. 

 Some S or 6 days later, upon examina- 

 tion, I found that practically all the 

 brood had been aborted. There was no 

 possible cause for the disappearance of 

 this brood except feeding of this honey. 

 When I washed the can it was bright, 

 and showed no sign of rust. I have 

 concluded that the honey was the cause 

 of the trouble, and caused me to lose 

 one "taking" of honey by not having 

 bees at the right time. As a matter 

 of course, a loss of 5000 or 6000 pounds 

 of honey is better saved than lost, but 

 it doesn't bother me any, when if I 

 cared for my bees as they should be 

 cared for at times I would have to lose 

 out on my farms. With me- something 

 has "to burn'' at times, and it may 

 just as well be the bees as any of my 

 other interests. T. P. Robinson. 



Bartlett, Tex., Jan. 16. 



-iw.iuiaiJ-«-'--;j^^- ■' .nM*j"««. 



<^anadiaiJ 

 'Beedom 



Conducted by J. L. BYER, Mount Joy, Ont, 



Bee-Keepers and Bee-Papers. 



It is often and truthfully said that 

 every bee-keeper should take one or 

 more bee-papers- At the present time 

 there is not the slightest excuse for any 

 Ontario bee-keeper not taking at least 

 two bee-papers, as the terms on which 

 they can be secured are about as near 

 getting "something for nothing," as can 

 be found in this world. 



As an illustration: A few days ago a 

 friend in Toronto enclosed $1.00 and 

 asked me to enroll him as a member of 

 our York County Association, and also 

 to send him a bee-paper. In reply I 

 told him that the $1.00 gave him a year's 

 membership in our local association, and 

 in the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Association, 

 as well. In addition he will receive the 

 Canadian Bee Journal one year, and 

 his choice of one of 3 bee-papers pub- 

 lished in the United States one year. 

 No doubt my friend thought it was 

 "bargain day," in the line of bee-papers; 

 and don't you, dear reader, think so, 

 too? 



If any Ontario bee-keepers have not 

 yet taken advantage of these extraordi- 

 nary inducements, by all means do so 

 at once, and help to increase the mem- 

 bership of the Ontario Association and 

 at the same time share in the benefits 

 and privileges of this organizaton. 



Of course, it is owing to the Govern- 

 ment grant that these concessions are 

 possible, and as bee-keepers it is the 

 least we can do, to show that we appre- 

 ciate the interest taken in the indus- 

 try. Any one remitting $1.00 to the 

 Secretary of the locr'l association, will 



be entitled to membership and privileges 

 as stated ; or send money to Sec. P. W. 

 Hodgetts, Parliament Buildings,Toronto, 

 and he will forward 50 cents to the Sec- 

 retary of your local association. I am 

 not positive as to whether all the local 

 associations, give a bee-paper as a pre- 

 mium, but in every case the Canadian 

 Bee Journal is sent by the Provincial 

 .Association. Write your Secretary, and 

 in most cases you will find that an ad- 

 ditional bee-paper will also be re- 

 ceived. 



Favorable Conditions for 1908. 



Our friends in California and Texas 

 are already talking of "prospects" for 

 next season's crop. A little early yet 

 here in Ontario to do much surmising, 

 but conditions so far have been favor- 

 able. Although we have had no weath- 

 er from Nov. 20 till now (Jan. 20), that 

 bees could fly, yet weather conditions 

 have been of such a nature that I hardly 

 think a flight has been required. Only 

 twice yet that the temperature has got 

 down to zero, and while we have had as 

 zvarm weather, yet the temperature has 

 been, for our latitude, remarkably even 

 and moderate. Bees outdoors seem to 

 be wintering nice and quiet, and the 25 

 colonies in a cellar four miles from 

 home, at my last visit appeared to be 

 in good condition. 



Clover looked well in the fall, and 

 it has had a nice blanket of snow over 

 it since Dec. 15. While alsike is rarely 

 damaged much in the winter, yet with 

 no snow on the ground the frost pene- 

 trates deep into the soil, and in the early 



spring (the trying time) the clover is 

 more apt to "heave," than is the case 

 when there has been a covering of 

 snow to keep out the frost. 



With two poor seasons in succession 

 it is to be hoped that there will be a 

 change for the better this j'ear. One 

 thing is certain, any honey produced 

 will be pretty sure to realize fair prices, 

 as there will be no old crop carried 

 over to aflfect this year's crop. 



"Bees and Boys." 



The above caption of an item in one 

 of our local papers, at once reminded 

 me of the story of the schoolteacher 

 who told her class to compose a sen- 

 tence in which the words, "boys," "bees" 

 and "bears" would be used. One young 

 hopeful handed in the following; "Boys 

 bees bears when they go in swim- 

 min'." However, the item in question 

 referred to other phases of the "bees" 

 business and is as follows: 



"In many of the California apiaries 

 boys are being employed almost alto- 

 gether to take care of the bees. It is 

 only in swarming time that other help 

 is needed. After a little experience a 

 boy can care for many hives, and it is 

 said they are not stung as often as the 

 men. It has been figured up that a 

 farmer's boy who is given 5 hives of 

 bees to begin with, and who will work 

 industriously, can make more money in 

 10 years than his father can on a farm 

 of 160 acres. Clover honey brings a 

 good price, and the market is always 

 short of it." 



When such stuflf as this is being cir- 

 culated no wonder that there are many 

 cases of "bee-fever" that end in dis- 

 gust. It is a wonder all the farmers who 

 have 160 acres do not abandon their 

 farms and keep bees ! By the way, it 

 will soon be in order to look on the 

 markets for California "clover honey," 

 produced in apiaries managed entirely 

 by "boys." 



Millions in Honey. 



"To the time-worn query, 'How doth 

 the little busy bee improve each shining 

 hour?' an official of the Apiary of the 

 United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture answered: 



" 'By making enough honey in a year 

 to load a train of freight cars which 

 would extend in a straight line from 

 New York to Detroit, and would have 

 a cash value of $25,000,000; that value 

 being based on wholesale and not retail 

 prices, too.' 



"Vast attention is being given by the 

 Agricultural Department to teaching the 

 army of bee-keepers in the United 

 States — to get the best results. The 

 startling statement was made that 

 through the carelessness of this army 

 of men and women more than 150,000,- 

 000 pounds of honey is lost annually, 

 which could be saved if modern methods 

 were adopted." 



The foregoing, taken from the Mon- 

 treal Herald, reminds one of "going 

 away from home to hear news," as it is 

 quite unlikely our American cousins are 

 aware that they are wasting such a vast 

 amount of honey by failing to adopt 

 "modern methods." It is to be hoped, 

 when the" -fe this, that they will hasten 



