1910 



GLEANINGS iN B£E CULTURE 



nr 



NOTES FROM CANADA 



By R. F. Holtermann. 



PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT ESTIMATES. 



The Supplementary Estimates for Ontario 

 contain the following items of interest to 

 bee-keepers: An increase of $500 to provide 

 for inspection of apiaries and traveling and 

 other expenses in connection with apicul- 

 tural work; $1200 to provide for lecturer on 

 apiculture at the Ontario Agricultural Col- 

 lege, and $750 to provide for equipment and 

 maintenance of the Apicultural Department. 

 I understand, however, that there may be 

 some further provision. 



Later. — The provincial apiarist's salary is 

 now $1500. 



■^ 



THE NORFOLK BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION. 



This association was organized Jan. 13, 

 1882. It has had 97 meetings, and has been 

 one of the most active local associations in 

 Ontario. In progressive movements it has 

 been well in the lead, particularly in late 

 years. More than one plan which it has in- 

 stigated have been brought to maturity. Its 

 present otl^icers are, Edwin Trinder, Pres., 

 Simcoe, Ont.; John Murphy, Silver Hill, Ont., 

 Vice-pres.; and Lee Beaupre, Forestville, 

 Ont., Secretary and Treasurer. All of these 

 are men who, when they undertake a work, 

 do not readily turn from it. Messrs. Trinder 

 and Murphy are well known in other activi- 

 ties. The Secretary, Mr. Beaupre, has been 

 a hard worker in the interests of the associ- 

 ation, and deserves the thanks of the bee- 

 keepers in the section of the country which 

 covers its activities. 



BEE-KEEPING IN RUSSIA. 



On page 23, British Bee Journal, there ap- 

 pears a very striking editorial on the above 

 subject. It contains in part as follows: "It 

 is said that in the government of Ekaterino- 

 slav, in South Rust)ia, there are nearly four 

 hives to every inhabitant " If I mistake not, 

 the district referred to is somewhat densely 

 populated, and it would be highly interesting 

 in this connection to have some information 

 on this subject. In any case, in this country 

 many would be inclined to think four colo- 

 nies to every inhabitant would be overstock- 

 ing with a vengeance. Again, "In Little 

 Russia, before its union with Russia proper, 

 there existed a tithe in bees, which consist- 

 ed in carrying to the seignior a tenth part of 

 all the honey produced in the hives. At the 

 beginning of the eighteenth century a single 

 forest domain of the government of Kiev 



Eaid the seignior annually as much as 200 

 arrels of honey, each barrel weighing 361 

 lbs." This means 72,200 lbs. 



QUEEN EXCLUDERS. 



On page 26, Jan. 1, a writer discusses the 

 question of using queen-excluders, doing it 

 in a fashion all too common on this side of 

 the ocean. D. M. Macdonald, Banff, who is 



beginning to be known as an apicultural 

 writer, has previously, in defense of the use 

 of queen-excluders, quoted such men as Dr. 

 Miller and Mr. Doolittle. Then he states, as 

 regards "advanced " American bee-keepers, 

 "let us look at just a few of their up- do-date 

 methods." Then Dr. Miller is shown up as 

 a man who does not paint hives, and, "in- 

 credible as it may appear, actually places a 

 diseased comb for several days in the hives 

 containing the turned-out (diseased) lots." 



Then Doolittle has it thrown up to him 

 that "He puts a couple of boards on the 

 ground in the apiary, and piles thereon his 

 reserve supers of honey, with no other pro- 

 tection than a hive cover on top; and there 

 they remain from October to the middle of 

 June." 



These practices would certainly, in my es- 

 timation, be very bad; but if it is all a correct 

 statement, there has nothing then been said 

 in favor of the abandonment of queen-ex- 

 cluders. As long as I can secure queen-ex- 

 cluders I do not care to do without them; in 

 fact, I would almost as soon do without comb 

 foundation in the brood- chamber. 



AN ACT RESPECTING THE RIGHT OF PROPERTY 

 IN SWARMS OF BEES. 



The Hon. J. S. Duff, Minister of Agricul- 

 ture for Ontario, has introduced an act in con- 

 nection with the above which will, no doubt, 

 become a law, as it is a government measure. 



"Bees living in a state of freedom shall be 

 the property of the person discovering them, 

 whether he is or is not the proprietor of the 

 land on which they have established them- 

 selves. Bees reared and kept in hives shall 

 be private property. Where a swarm of 

 bees leaves a hive, the owner may reclaim 

 them so long as he can prove his right of 

 property therein, and shall be entitled to 

 take possession of them at any place on which 

 the swarm settles, even if such place be on 

 the land of another person; but the owner 

 shall notify the proprietor of such land before- 

 hand, and compensate him for all damages. 



" If a swarm settles in a hive which is al- 

 ready occupied, the owner of such swarm 

 shall lose all right of property therein. 



"An unpursued swarm which lodges on 

 any property, without settling thereon, may 

 be secured by the first comer unless the pro- 

 prietor of the land objects. 



"If the owner of a swarm declines to fol- 

 low the swarm, and another person under- 

 takes the pursuit, such other person shall 

 be substituted in the rights of the owner, 

 and every swarm which is not followed shall 

 become the property of the proprietor of the 

 land on which it settles, without regard to 

 the place from which it has come." 



"FLOURING" BEES SHAKEN IN GRASS. 



Instead of shaking bees on to the bottom of the hive 

 I shake out in front of the hive several feet away. 

 When ready to drop the queen among them, sprinkle 

 flour on the bees. They will get into the hive in one- 

 fourth the time it would take to smoke them in. It 

 seems to demoralize them completely. 



Colo, Iowa. D. E. Lhommeuieu. 



