October, i-pot^ 



American "Bee -Journal 



Canadian 



Conducted by J. L. BYER. Mount Joy. 



SiiiiiU Vield from Buckwheat. 



On page 273, I stated that "prospects" 

 were good for a flow of honey from the 

 buckwheat. Unfortunately, dry cold 

 weather ensuing just after that was 

 written, knocked out the yield we were 

 expecting, and we have to be content 

 with a meager 15-pound per colony yield. 

 However, brood-cliambers are crammed 

 full of buckwheat honey, so feeding will 

 not l)e necessary. 



After all, our surmise was correct in 

 so far as "best late flow" in our locality, 

 as our crop from buckwheat, small as it 

 is, is the most we have ever obtaintd 

 from that source. Be it understood that 

 is, is the most we have ever obtained 

 plant has been grown in our section. 



A Buckwheat Story. 



Tn connection with buckwheat as a 

 honey-yielder, the writer a few days 

 ago had a hearty laugh over a story 

 told him by a farmer bee-keeper who 

 also raises poultry quite extensively. 

 The first year that buckwheat was sow;n 

 near his place, when the plant came in 

 bloom nicely, a decidedly bad smell was 

 noticed about the' hives in the evenings. 

 Not being acquainted with the peculiar 

 odor of freshly-gathered buckwheat 

 honey, my friend came to the conclu- 

 sion that some of his chickens had died 

 under the hives and were responsible 

 for the trouble. Two or 3 evenings he 

 and his good wife searched among the 

 bees in an effort to find the dead chick- 

 ens that were so offensive, and failing 

 to find them, were at a loss to account 

 for the peculiar and unpleasant situa- 

 tion, for, as they said, "their neighbors 

 were turning up their noses in disgust 

 every time they went past the place." 



One morning when examining a strong 

 colony, the odor was located without a 

 doubt as coming from the inside of the 

 hive, and lo, the mystery was solved 

 at last. "The bees had foul brood." 

 Tliat same day, a well-known bee-keeper 

 happened to be passing, and our friend 

 hailed him at once and told of his "mis- 

 fortune." Needless to add, that when 

 Mr. Bee-Keeper came and examined the 

 bees, a hearty laugh all around was in 

 order. 



A Verj- Dry Time in Ontario. 



Today (Sept. 22) we extracted the 

 buckwheat honey at the Altona yard. 

 The day was hot, and as a consequence 

 of bush fires off a distance from us, a 

 heavy pall of smoke pervaded the atmos- 

 phere all day. Whether the smoky air 

 was responsible or not, I can not say, 

 but for some reason, not a bee would 

 ofifer to rob. Scarcely a bee was flying, 



and hives could be opened, bees shaken 

 or brushed off the combs with as mucli 

 comfort as if a heavy flow of honey was 

 in progress. A wet cloth over the comb 

 box was used in the morning, but even 

 that precaution was not necessary, as 

 the bees would pay no attention to any- 

 thing beyond showing a desire to get 

 back into the hives and staying there. 

 As we have never before had such an 

 experience, we can attribute their actions 

 to nothing else than the smoky atmos- 

 pnere. 



Let me say that we are experiencing 

 one of the worst drouths that has ever 

 occurred here, no rain since Aug. 5, 

 and no signs of any to date — over 7 

 weeks. As near as I can learn this con- 

 dition is pretty general over Ontario. 



"Tall" Colony Yields 418 Pounds. 



That 8-super colony shown on page 

 274 has done good work as is evidenced 

 by "final returns."Since writing those 

 items in connection with Mr. Free's 

 apiary, I have had the pleasure of again 

 being in the yard. Right after a big 

 crop of clover honey came the heaviest 

 yield of dark honey they have ever had. 

 This crop came from the boneset that 

 grows in a big marsh along the river 

 Trent. The honey, the flavor of which 



I in the writer's opinion) is delightful, 

 1^, if I am correct, not often heard of 

 here in Ontario, and as near as I can find 

 out the plant is not generally counted 

 on as much of a yielder. 



Returning to that big hive; the his 

 tory for the season is as follows : Thi- 

 colony, in a standard 8-framc Lang 

 stroth hive, was wintered in the cellar, 

 and received no help in the way of brood 

 or bees from other colonies. When the 

 tirood-chamber was full, the half-depth 

 super shown, filled with full sheets of 

 foundation, was given and the queen 

 allowed use of all right through the 

 season. On September 12, the boneset 

 honey was taken from the Ijces and 

 carefully weighed, and this added to the 

 clover honey extracted earlier, made a 

 total of 418 pounds. In addition, the 

 half-depth body is capped solid, and will 

 be left for winter. The bees are leather- 

 colored Italians, and the queen was bred 

 from a mother secured from a well- 

 known queen-breeder. The average of 

 the whole apiary this y.ear is something 

 over 200 pounds per colony. 



Bayless Uncapping Slachine. 



Mr. Wm. L. Bayless, some years ago, 

 invented and perfected the reversible 

 honey-extractor. For some time he 

 worked on a new machine for uncap- 

 ping. It was done chiefly in his spare 

 moments, as the enterprise was en- 

 tirely his own. It can be truly said that 

 at last he has it perfected. It is a very 

 ingenious yet simple device. We believe 

 he has the correct principle beyond a 

 doubt. The machine is built in two 

 ways, as will be seen by the illustra- 

 tions, A and B. One will uncap the 

 comb from end to end, while the other 

 will take the comb lengthwise and cut 

 the capping from the bottom up to the 

 top bar. The machine is operated by a 

 small crank, and all parts driven by 



Bayless Uncapi'Inc. Machine Style A. 



