June, 1 90S. 



171 



American Hee Journal 



^^^^mHi 



tliird of these liad any brood or eggs 

 nt all in the early part of March, and 

 the large majority of those that did 

 have either eggs or brood had just start- 

 ed it, and those having the most brood 

 then were almost invariably the ones 

 which had wintered the poorest. 



My observations were all made in ex- 

 treme Northern Iowa, were extended 

 over several seasons, and were almost 

 altogether of colonies kept in first-class 

 chaff-hives. 



I am of the impression that the milder 

 the climate bees are in the greater tend- 

 ency to continue brood-rearing during 

 the winter. I have very rarely seen a 

 normal colony, either here in South 

 Florida or in Cuba, entirely without 

 brood at any time of the year. 



Stuart, Fla., May 4. O. O. Poppleton. 



Relative to what I said as to colonies 

 rearing brood in the winter, I am still 

 convinced that my conclusions are cor- 

 rect, for our locality. Like Mr. Pop- 

 pleton, I have had little experience in 

 cellar-wintering, but well-known and re- 

 liable bee-keepers have told me that 

 quite often nearly every colony would 

 have no brood when put on the sum- 

 mer stands. On the other hand, other 

 successful winterers have stated that the 

 reverse was more often the case in their 

 experience. As to which condition is 

 most desirable, is a disputed question, 

 but the majority of cellar-winterers seem 

 to agree that brood-rearing in the cel- 

 lar is detrimental to the best interests of 

 the colony. 



Now as regards out-door wintering, 

 while I do not claim to have the ex- 

 perience of Mr. Poppleton, yet from 

 the time of being 2 years old — at which 

 age my grandfather used afterwards to 

 remind me of having caused him a lot 

 of trouble by removing the entrance- 

 blocks — I have been within the sound 

 of the hum of about 200 colonies con- 

 tinually. Yet I frankly admit having 

 but little experience in looking into 

 brood-nests during the winter months. 

 While the cases mentioned are few, yet 

 in each colony spoken of, there was 

 abundance of bees and honey, and to 

 all appearances the bees were winter- 

 ing perfectly, yet in a cold winter there 

 was brood present in January and Feb- 

 ruary. A pretty difficult matter to tell 

 for sure just who is right in the ques- 

 tion, as I for one, Mr. Poppleton, will 

 give you your own way in the matter, 

 rather than to try to prove that you are 

 wrong by making a wholesale examina- 

 tion of the brood-nests during the win- 

 ter months. 



But as to what you say about the early 

 part of March, I am positive that such 

 a condition is not often found here in 

 Ontario. A few years ago, during a 

 warm spell in the first w-eek of March, 

 I was alarmed by finding a colony 

 starved to death. The day being ex- 

 ceptionally warm for the time of year, 

 a hasty examination was made of the 

 entire yard. All that was done was to 

 remove the sawdust cushion, turn back 

 the quilt and gently smoke the bees 

 down a little. The frames being a scant 

 ^-inch wide, sealed honey could be seen 

 at once, as well as sealed brood more 

 than half way down the deep frames. 

 I remember distinctly that in nearly 

 every colony the brood could be seen 

 readily. Now, it was not a case of bad 



wintering; on the other hand, the bees 

 came through very strong, and although 

 occupying brood-nest equal in capacity 

 to 15 or 16 Langstroth frames, yet most 

 of the colonies required supers in fruit- 

 bloom to ward off swarming. 



There is a possibility that Carniolan 

 blood may in some measure account for 

 so much early brood-rearing, but after 

 making due allowance for that, I will 

 bet a big apple that here in Ontario 

 nearly every strong colony will be found 

 to have brood in the early part of March. 



Too Much Honey in Winter. 



At the risk of again being "cour- 

 teously criticised," 1 am going to differ 

 from the statement made by another 

 veteran, in the May issue of the Ameri- 

 can Bee-Keeper. Dr. Blanton, of Mis- 

 sissippi, in giving his report for 1907, 

 says: 



"I lose more bees from having too 

 much honey in the hive, than when two- 

 thirds full, from the fact of the bees 

 clustering on the combs of honey and 

 freezing. I have lost some of my larg- 

 est colonies in that way. When the se- 

 vere winter comes late, then the bees 



Co-operation Among Bee-Keepers. 



Frequently of late we have been giv- 

 ing the views of different Ontario bee- 

 keepers on the subject of co-operation. 

 At the last annual meeting of the On- 

 tario Association a committee was ap- 

 pointed to look into the matter and re- 

 port at the next meeting. The follow- 

 ing circular letter sent to members of 

 the Association is self-explanatory : 



ONTARIO DEPARTMENT OF 

 AGRICULTURE. 



FRUIT AND HONEY BRANCH. 



The meeting of the Co-operative Com- 

 mittee of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation was held in my office on 

 April 2ist, and a full discussion took 

 place as to what could be done the pres- 

 ent year along these lines. It was felt 

 by all of the members that at first no 

 elaborate scheme could be undertaken. 

 The question of suitable inspection of 

 honey was one of importance, and it was 

 felt that to work up a trade in large 

 quantities for such markets as the 

 Northwest, it would be necessary to 

 have the goods thoroughly inspected and 

 guaranteed before shipment. 



Out-Api.^ry of J. L. Byer. in Winter. 



have consumed enough honey to have 

 plenty of dry combs to cluster on." 



Whenever we Canucks see the names 

 of Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and 

 other Southern States, we naturally 

 think of balmy days and semi-tropical 

 vegetation. Vet it appears that down in 

 Mississippi, it freezes harder than in 

 Canada, as I wish to assure Dr. Blan- 

 ton that bees w-ill not free::e here even 

 though they have not enough empty 

 combs for all to cluster on. How do I 

 know? Why, by actual results of win- 

 tering on sealed combs of honey; and 

 if my evidence is doubted, ask Mr. Mc- 

 Evoy and he will tell you. 



When movable frames came into use, 

 many formerly- held views were easily 

 disproved, and as it is just as easy to 

 prove this wintering question under dis- 

 cussion, I have often been mystified as 

 to why well-known authorities in bee- 

 keeping will theorize to show that it is 

 impossible for bees to winter, unless 

 there is sufficient empty comb to cluster 

 on, when actual practise will disprove 

 their statements. 



It was finally decided to ask the 

 Honey Exchange Committee to get from 

 the bee-keepers in the Province some 

 idea of the amount of surplus honey 

 which they would have for sale at the 

 price fixed by this Committee. Such a 

 list would be printed and distributed by 

 the Secretary of the Association to all 

 inquiring parties as well as to the large 

 wholesale houses throughout the Prov- 

 inces and in the West. This would tend 

 to bring together the honey-producer and 

 the wholesale buyer, and would probably 

 result in more satisfactory and prompter 

 sales than have taken place in the past. 



It was felt that some of our reliable 

 and well-known bee-keepers in the vari- 

 ous sections could easily undertake the 

 inspection at small cost. By keeping a 

 register of the quantities of honey for 

 sale and the grades of the same, the 

 secretary would be in a position in many 

 cases to help in the sale of the goods. 



As the Department is exhibiting Onta- 

 rio honey in the West this summer, there 

 will doubtless be inquiries from that part 

 of the country for honey in quantities 



