1910 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUKE 



339 



Notes from Canada 



By R. F. IIOLTERMANN 



PKOSPECTS FOK THE SEASON. 



Since my last writing, lots of young bees 

 have appeared in the hives; but I am told 

 that even colonies packed on the summer 

 stands, owing to the wet and cold weather 

 for the last two weeks, have not much brood 

 in the hives, and stores are not any too 

 plentiful. However. I believe the bees have 

 made progress while vegetation has ad- 

 vanced slowly indeed. Three white frosts 

 have visited us (May 3, 4, 5), the heaviest 

 on the 4th. The outlook is still good, and 

 a honey crop is now almost a matter of tem- 

 perature only. 



-^ 



SPACES OF BEES. 



So our good old friend Dr. Miller has join- 

 ed G. M. Doolittle to the extent of "suspect- 

 ing" that Doolittle is right when he says, 

 " Six spaces of bees on a frosty morning the 

 first of May is better than more or less." I 

 suppose I am not in it at all, then, when I 

 had to super twelve-frame Langstroth hives 

 on and before April 21. .Just the same, I 

 wish Mr. Doolittle lived near me and would 

 make a few exchanges, giving me his colo- 

 nies with more than six spaces in exchange 

 for six spaces. Can not the ditYerence of 

 opinion upon this subject be laid to man- 

 agement? I doubt very much, where the 

 non-swarmijig plan is followed out, if bees 

 can be too strong at any time. 



LIST OF APIARY INSPECTORS FOR THE 

 PROVINCE OF ONTARIO IN 1910. 



1. J. S. Schrank, Port Klgiii, Bruce and Huron. 



2. D. Chalmers. Poole, Waterloo and Perth. 



3. Wni. Idle. Clarksburg, Wellington and Grey. 



4. W. A. Chrysler, Chatham, Lambton, Kent, and 



Essex. 

 0. John Xewton, Thamesford, Middlesex and 

 Elgin. 



6. James Armstrong. Cheapslde, Norfolk, Haldi- 



mand. and Wetland. 



7. W. Bayless, Grand View. Oxford and Brant. 



8. Alex. Robertson, Waterdown. Wentworth and 



Lincoln. 



9. Arthur Adamson, Erindale. llalton, Peel, and 



Duffer in. 



10. Ily. Johnson. Craighurst, Simcoe and Muskoka. 



11. J. I,. Byer. Mount Joy, Ontario, York. Victoria, 



and Durham. 



12. AV. Scott. Wooler, Peterboro, Xorthumberland, 



Hastings, and Prince Edward. 



13. J. B. Checkley. Linden Bank. Lennox and Ad- 



dington. Frontenac and Leeds. 



14. A. A. Ferrier, Renfrew. Renfrew, Lanark, and 



Carleton. 



15. Alex. Dickson, Lancaster. Russell, Prescott, 



and Glengarry. 



16. Homer Burke, Tayside, Greenville, Dundas, 



Stormont. 



■^ 



IS THERE A "BEST BEE"? 



There are so many things that D. M. 

 Macdonald writes that I agree with and 

 consider excellent that I hesitate to com- 

 ment upon his article on p. 296, May 1, es- 

 pecially as he is a ready lance with his pen. 



More than that, owing to some slip I was 

 recently naade to say that he was becoming 

 well known as an apicultural writer when 1 

 intended to add o?? this conthifnt, as he is 

 already well known in Europe. In defend- 

 ing the black bees against the charge of not 

 defending themselves as well against the 

 moth, he justly points out that, with strong 

 colonies, the wax-moth need never be fear- 

 ed. True; but I have had hundreds and 

 hundreds of instances where, in the same 

 apiary, in strong colonies, the wax-moth 

 larvfe could be found sometimes half a doz- 

 en in a black colony. Such instances are 

 rare in Italian colonies. Yes. in this coun- 

 try one can readily find eight or ten larva? 

 of the moth in a black colony where one 

 would be found in an Italian. This being 

 the case, there must be a point where the 

 black stock succumbs to the moth when the 

 Italian does not. More reason would lead 

 me to believe that the black bee must be 

 less vigilant at the hive entrance when oth- 

 er enemies approach; and experience bears 

 out my reasoning. As to susceptibility to 

 foul brood, I can not prove any difference. 

 In case of what is called American foul 

 brood I doubt if there is any difference; but 

 I find much more dead brood in colonies 

 headed by black queens than with Italian 

 or Carniolan. I say "Carniolan," because 

 we in Canada do not refer to them when we 

 use the term black bees. The Carniolan 

 and black bee have characteristics as dis- 

 tinct as the Italian and black; and if any 

 one doubts this statement, let me say, 

 "Your Carniolan bees have little or no Car- 

 niolan blood in them." 



•UNTIMELY BREEDING. 



Mr. Macdonald commends black bees for 

 "not breeding untimely." As I under- 

 stand that term, when comparing Italians 

 and Carniolans with blacks, this is a virtue 

 I have never been able to appreciate in black 

 bees. If bees have been brooding until 

 April 20, they are packed so that brood will 

 not chill, even if the hives are not protected 

 beyond a warm cover and proper entrance. 

 ^Vhen it rains, and perhaps a few chilly days 

 come, for two weeks, the blacks stop brootl- 

 rearing while the Italian and Carniolan 

 bees go on. I like that kind of untimely 

 brooding. This untimely brooding of Ital- 

 ians and Carniolans gives me a lot of com- 

 fort during the present weather, during a 

 break in a honey-flow — yes, after the last 

 flow and until cold nights come on. The 

 young bees are the heart and soul of a colo- 

 ny at all times. Mr. Macdonald quotes 

 (^uinby, "I can often avert a black bee in 

 time to prevent a sting; but he must be a 

 skillful swordsman who would thus parry 

 the lightning thrust of the Italian." Ad- 

 mitting the trait, it just shows the strong, 

 vigile, and active character of the Italian. 

 Something can be said for black bees. They 

 have some traits superior to Italians; but 

 give me the medium yellow-colored Italians 

 in preference to the blacks. 



