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American l^ee JoarnalJ 



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



Bee-Keeping at the Ontario Agricultural 

 College 



The Short Course in Apiculture at the 

 Ontario Agricultural College, held from 

 May 1-6, 1911, at Guelph, Ont., was the 

 first Short Course of its kind ever held 

 at the Ontario Agricultural College, 

 and it was a success. 



In all, 43 bee-enthusiasts were in at- 

 tendance, including 8 regular apicul- 

 tural students of MacDonald Hall, and 

 (i other ladies from different parts of 

 the Province. The counties repre- 

 sented were the following: Bruce, 

 Carleton, Dufferin, Elgin, Haldimand, 

 Kent, Lambton, Leefls, Lincoln, Mid- 

 dlesex, Perth, Stormont, Welland, Wel- 

 lington, Wentworth, York, and the 

 Province of Quebec. Nine of the Pro- 

 vincial Apiary Instructors were pres- 

 ent, also Dr. G. Gordon Hewitt, Ph. D., 

 Dominion Entomologist, and his as- 

 sistant apiarist, Mr. Beaulne, of the 

 Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa. 



The program consisted of forenoons 

 devoted to lectures, the afternoons to 

 demonstration and practice, and the 3 

 evening lectures of a more popular na- 

 ture, copiously illustrated with lantern 

 views. The weather being cold most 

 of the week, the practical work took 

 the form of demonstrations in the Api- 

 cultural Laboratory, doing such work 

 as rendering wax from combs, nailing 

 up hives, nailing and wiring frames, 

 and putting in comb foundation. A 

 rather complete display of different 

 kinds of combs which bees build, also 

 of the machinery used in the produc- 

 tion of honey and beeswa.x, attracted 

 much attention. 



By Thursday it was warm enough to 

 visit the College Apiary. The hives 

 were still in the boxes where they had 

 been packed with planer shavings for 

 the winter. These boxes were taken 

 off by members of the class and stack- 

 ed ; the shavings were removed, and 

 the class was given a drill on hand- 

 ling combs, and looking for different 

 conditions of the internal economy of 



the hive. Friday afternoon was spent 

 in a similar way, giving more attention 

 to the symptoms of .American foul 

 brood. Saturday afternoon local api- 

 aries were visited, and some members 

 of the class became discoverers of real 



causes of disease, much to their own 

 satisfaction. 



The lecture work was divided largely 

 between Mr. Morley Pettit, the Provin- 

 cial Apiarist, and Dr. E. F. Phillips, 

 Ph. D., In Charge of Apiculture for the 

 United States. Mr. Pettit handled the 

 more practical problems of apiculture, 

 and Dr. Phillips discussed the question 

 of general behavior, anatomy, and dis- 

 eases of bees. Prof. Edwards intro- 

 duced the subject of disease by a gen- 

 eral discussion of the nature of bac- 

 teria. Prof. Harcourt demonstrated 

 simple chemical tests for the purity of 

 honey. Prof. C. A. Zavitz explained 



Fig. 3.— Three Groups of Hives Unpacked. 



Fig. 2.— Looking for Foul Brood. 



the work of the Ontario Agricultural 

 and E-xperimental Union, and suggested 

 ways in which it could serve the bee- 

 keepers of Ontario in addition to the 

 work already done. Mr. LeDrew ex- 

 plained the principles of co-operation 

 which might be applied to the business 

 of honey-production. 



The evening lecture by Dr. Phillips, 

 on "The Behavior of the Bee," and on 

 "The Hawaiian Islands and their Bee- 

 Keeping Industry," were largely at- 

 tended by members of the Normal 

 Teachers' Class and the students of the 

 O. A. C. and MacDonald Hall. 



At the Friday night lecture President 

 G. C. Creelman, B. S. A., LL. D., occu- 

 pied the chair in his usual genial man- 

 ner. 



There were many expressions of ap- 

 preciation from the members of the 

 class as they dispersed to their homes, 

 on Saturday, May 6th. 



The 3 illustrations herewith will help 

 to make somewhat clearer certain por- 

 tions of the test. 



Fig. I.— Taking Winter Packing Off the Hives. 



Preparing a Bee-Cellar or Bee-Cave 



Touching the question of cellar win- 

 tering, let me tell of something that 

 came under my notice but a few days 

 ago. I happened to be visiting a bee- 

 keeper living 200 miles from my home, 

 and I am bound to say that after hay- 

 ing seen many hundreds of colonies in 

 different kinds of cellars and reposi- 

 tories indifferent parts of the country, 

 the method used by the man in ques- 

 tion gives the most perfect success of 

 anything that has come under my no- 

 tice in the way of wintering bees in- 

 doors. 



The apiary is located on a flat lime- 



