XuvLiiilicr, iiji'S. 



American Hw Journal 



anadian 

 "Beedo 



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



IjOiig Drouth ill Ontario Unbroken. 



The pniloiiged droulli in Ontario re- 

 mains practically unbroken to dale (Oc- 

 tober J2). Since August 51I1 there has 

 been only one rain of any importance. 

 I doubt whether things have suffered 

 much so far, from a bee-keeper's stand.- 

 point. Clover (alsike) was a good 

 "catch," seems to be deeply rooted, and 

 is at present looking well. Very lit- 

 tle fall wheat has been sown, and as 

 this is generally the best cover crop for 

 clover seeding, the limited acreage may 

 mean icss clover for 1910. But that dat^: 

 is entirciy too remote to be borrowing 

 trouble over, so at present we refuse to 

 notice anything but the good prospects 

 for 1909. 



A Good Fall Bee-Feeder. 



Recently, while at Mr. J. McGilliv- 

 ray's, in Ontario, I was shown a feeder 

 that struck me as being very handy and 

 being possessed of some features that 

 would commend it for use in the fall 

 when large amounts of syrup have to 

 be given for winter stores. Built on the 

 principle of the Miller feeder, it differs 

 from the orignal, in that there is no per- 

 manent cover, a wire screen being used 

 on top insteatl. If more feed is required 

 it can be poured through the wire-cloth 

 and no bees can fly up, and at any time 

 it is easy to see what progress the bees 

 are making in storing the syrup. On top 

 of the screen a quilt or board can be 

 laid, and if the weather is cool a cush- 

 ion can also be put on, so that the heat 

 is better conserved. 



Feeding Sugar Rather tliaii Honey 

 for Winter Stores. 



In' giving directions for preparing su- 

 gar syrup for winter stores, Editor Root 

 in Gleanings, says, "But some will ask, 

 "Why not feed honey?' A good article 

 is too expensive and a cheap honey is 

 dear at any price." 



The "reasons" given are valid, but, 

 Mr. Root, you might have added, "Un- 

 less (ihsolutdy sure of the source of 

 honey to be fed, there is great danger 

 of developing foul brood." Perhaps 

 some will think that the writer is a crank 

 on the subject of foul brood, but from 

 a number of cases that have come under 

 my notice, I feel justified in saying that 

 it is very risky, if not dangerous, to ad- 

 vocate the feeding of honey. No later 

 than last spring an extensive bee-keeper 

 wrote me saying : 



"A few years ago I had foul brood 

 among my bees, and by thorough work 

 had eradicated the disease. Last fall 



I was foolish enough to buy some cheap 

 honey and mix it with the syrup for 

 winter stores, and while I felt sure that 

 there w^as no foul brood in the apiary 

 said honey was produced in, now I find 

 nearly all my colonies are dosed." 



Needless to say there is not much 

 likelihood of that man feeding much 

 honey to his bees for some time in the 

 future. Some say that in giving combs 

 from one colony to another amounts to 

 the same thing, but the cases are much 

 different, as in the case of extracted 

 honey ; it may indeed be a little leaven, 

 1 -avening the whole lump, as the honey 

 from one foul colony may contaminate 

 many pounds with the foul-brood germs. 



Bees AVell Supplied with Winter 

 Stores. 



Bees • throughout Ontario, according 

 to many reports received, are going into 

 winter quarters in splendid condition. 

 This is. the case particularly in sections 

 where there has been a fall flow of 

 honey. In our own apiaries, the clust- 

 ers are fully one-third larger than they 

 were last fall. Other conditions being 

 equal, this should mean good wintering, 

 as especially for outdoor wintering I 

 like to see good, populous colonies. For 

 cellar-wintering it may be all right to 

 rob the colonies in the fall of their old 

 bees, but for outside, I would take no 

 chances. Anyway, I have an idea that 

 in moving the colony off the old stand, 

 as advocated by some, that quite a few 

 bees that are not old, are sacrificed. 

 This idea of "Oslerizing" the old bees 

 in the fall of the year is not new by 

 any means, as some 12 years ago a num- 

 ber of Ontario bee-keepers (Jacob Al- 

 paugh among them, if I am correct) 

 were practicing the plan in a limited 

 way. Of late years I have heard little 

 about it, so quite likely there is "noth- 

 ing doing" at present. 



Cellar vs. Outdoors for Bees in 

 Winter. 



Winter is coming again, and with its 

 advent many will be debating how to 

 winter their bees. While cellars are 

 preferred by some and the outdoor sys- 

 tem by others, it was the writer's priv- 

 ilege to run across one bee-keeper this 

 summer who winters his bees, some 50 

 colonies, in a room adjoining, and con- 

 nected by a door with, the living-room 

 occupied by the family. The bees had 

 wintered in splendid condition, and the 

 results would seem to prove, in this 

 instance, at least, that a high temperat- 

 ture is not detrimental to the bees. 



.^sked as to whether llic liees were 

 noisy, Mr. Snelgrove replied that every- 

 thing was quiet till the warm days of 

 March, and then they were lively. Pre- 

 cautions were taken to darken the win- 

 dows, but no other preparation was 

 given to the rooms. Mr. Snelgrove in- 

 tends to winter the bees in the same 

 place this season again, and the results 

 will be awaited with interest. 



Relative to the subject of cellar ver- 

 sus outdoor wintering, it is an undenia- 

 ble fact that there is a tendency here in 

 Ontario towards more bees being win- 

 tered outside than has been the case 

 heretofore. Whether this change is to 

 be permanent or not remains to be seen. 

 Certain it is that quite a few extensive 

 bee-keepers that the writer is acquainted 

 with, have signified their intentions of 

 changing from cellar-wintering to the 

 outdoor method. 



Do Dark Brood-Combs .\flfect tlie 

 Color of Their Hoiie.v? 



Is honey extracted from dark brood- 

 combs as light in color as that e.xtracteu 

 from white combs in w-hich no brood 

 has been reared? Mr. Chapman, of 

 Michigan, says there is no difference, and 

 he ought to know, for certainly he pro- 

 duces lots of honey. In a private con- 

 versation with him at Detroit last week, 

 he was quite emphatic on this matter, 

 while the writer felt inclined to disa- 

 gree w-ith him, i. e., as far as the first 

 extracting out of a dark comb from 

 which brood has recently emerged, is 

 concerned. 



I have taken the pains to ask the opin- 

 ion of a number of prominent bee- 

 keepers who exhibit honey at fairs, and 

 w-thout any exception they say that 

 the honey from the brood-combs is 

 darker, and that for exhibition purposes 

 they are always careful to extract only 

 from new white combs. Certain it is 

 that if these old brood-combs are filled 

 w-ith water and then given a whirl in 

 the extractor, the resultant product is 

 not "water white." Whether the bees 

 eliminate this coloring matter before 

 putting honey in the cells, is another 

 question, but I very much doubt that 

 they do so. 



"The Honey-Money Stories" 



This is a 64-page and cover book- 

 let sH by 8J4 inches in size. Printed 

 on enameled paper. It contains a variety 

 of short, bright stories, mixed with facts 

 and interesting items about honey and 

 its use. It has 31 half-tone pictures, 

 mostly of apiaries or apiarian scenes. 

 It has 3 bee-songs, namely: "The Hum 

 •of the Bees in the .\pple-Tree Bloom," 

 "Buckwheat Cakes and Honey," and 

 "The Bee-Keeper's Lullaby." It ought 

 to be in the hands of every one not 

 familiar with the food value of honey. 

 Its object is to create a larger demand 

 for honey. It is sent postpaid for 25 

 cents, but we will mail a single copy as a 

 sample for 15 cents, 5 copies for 60 

 cents, or 10 copies for $1.00. .\ copy 

 with the .\merican Bee Journal one year 

 — both for 80 cents. Send all orders to 

 George W. York & Co., 118 W. Jackson. 

 Chicago, 111. 



