54 S 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Sept. 1 



Notes from Canada 



By R, F. IIOLTERMANN 



FLOUR METHOD OF INTRODUCING QUEENS. 



Mr. .Joseph Gray, a well-known British 

 I'ee-keeper, who originated the method of 

 introducing queens by sprinkling flour, is 

 spending the season with me, with the 

 object of getting an insight into bee-keep- 

 ing methods in America. A month from 

 now I hope to be able to report my e.\i)eri- 

 ence with this method of introducing. 



A VARIABLE SEASON. 



Under the above heading, page 219, Aine?'- 

 ican Bee Journal, friend Byer describes the 

 Ontario season. Such it surely has been. 

 If bees had been in good shape, no doubt a 

 very large crop of honey would have been 

 harvested. With me the season has not 

 been quite the etjual of last year. The flow 

 was never as heavy as last year. This may, 

 however, be the result of scarcity of clover 

 in my section. I sometimes feel that those 

 living in sections where the snow lies deep 

 and long have an advantage over bee-keep- 

 ers in my own section. 



PRICES FOR HONEY IN ONTARIO. 



The committee ai)pointed by the Ontario 

 Bee-keepers' Association has met, and, so 

 far as 1 can learn now, decided that crop 

 and other conditions warrant no material 

 change in the price of honey. The price of 

 most farm produce, particularly eggs, but- 

 ter, and meat, has nuuerially advanced dur- 

 ing the past year. The honey crop, so far 

 as I can judge, is not at all excessive, so 

 that a decrease in price should scarcely be 

 looked for: and owing to a partial failure in 

 the Western wheat crop, the wisdom of an 

 advance would be problematical. 



AFTER THE CLOVEK-FLOW. 



Last season, here, .luly and August were 

 very dry — so much so, in fact, that bees 

 secured absolutely nothing, and young clo- 

 ver went into winter quarters in very bad 

 shape. This year the oi)posite is the case. 

 Bees have bien gaining slightly ; brood- 

 rearing has been going on. and the condi- 

 tion of clover is good. In this section farm- 

 ers are changing from clover to alfalfa, 

 which does not imi)rove the chance for a 

 honey croj), as it rarely gives enough honey 

 to show uj) in the brood-chamber. Some 

 will say alfalfa yielded honey in Ontario 

 this year. So it did ; but it is not very 

 often that we have as much moisture in the 

 soil as we are having this season. That is 

 why alfalfa yields this year. 



BRITISH FOUL-BROOD LEGISLATION. 



On page 273, liritifth Bee Journal, apjiears 

 the draft of a bill for the better ])revention 

 of bee-diseases. It is proposed to deal with 



this matter under the " Diseases of Animals 

 Act." It has puzzled me for years why this 

 matter should not thus be dealt with in 

 Canada. Bees are animals ; infectious dis- 

 eases in bees are even more dangerous to 

 the health of neighboring bees than with 

 other animals who have no wings to carry 

 them long distances. The welfare of many 

 classes is involved in stam))ing out the dis- 

 ease. The owner of other animals calls in a 

 veterinary surgeon in case of disease if he 

 requires skilled heli). Why should a l>ee- 

 keejier not have the same chance? Why 

 should a veterinary college not instruct 

 students in this disease of animals, and a 

 veterinary surgeon be fitted to detect foul 

 brood and give the help needed for a cure? 



COLOR OF VIRGIN WAX. 



Louis Macy, on page 22:>, American Bee 

 Journal, in commenting on the color of 

 wax, says : "Doesn't locality or the color of 

 the honey it is made from decide this? Our 

 honey is water-white — from sweet clover 

 and alfalfa ; and the freshly made comb is 

 also quite white. I think the yellowing 

 with age is due not only to the heat but 

 also to the bees crawling over it (probably 

 rubbing on some pollen or propolis), as I 

 'have observed some little comb built out- 

 side a division-board and left alone remain- 

 ed white longer than that built at the same 

 in used frames." 



I have noticed that when the bees worked 

 on goldenrod, the combs were yellow from 

 the pollen, and no doubt ])ropolis has a part 

 in coloring wax. Buckwheat honey which 

 is quite dark, however, produces wax in ap- 

 pearance as white as any. Is it not pcssi- 

 ble that the color of the grains of pollen in 

 the honey fiom which ihe wax is jjroduced 

 has an effect upon the color of the wax? 

 .^ 



WHY BEES FEAR SMOKE. 



Editor York, of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal, does not appear to have much faith in 

 the theory that bees have learned by experi- 

 ence to dread smoke through being hunted 

 by natives in their natural haunts. On page 

 2i4 of the Journal he argues that such col- 

 onies have been destroyed, and therefore 

 can not transmit this fear to i)osterity. 1 

 have very little faith in changing the dis- 

 l)Osition or nature of a strain of bees by 

 environments and conditions. No doubt 

 there is such a thing as the survival of the 

 fittest, but that is quite a dilferent thing. 

 In lands where bees are much tampered 

 with I would expect that there would be a 

 survival of those that would best defend 

 themselves. In civili/ed countries where 

 we value gentleness, I would expect the 

 gradual development of more gentle bees. 

 Have our bees learned to look ujwn a dose of 

 smoke in the si)ring as an indication that a 

 bee-keei»er is going his rounds to see if, by 

 feeding for stores or in any other way, he 

 can helj) the colony along to yield more 

 honey. If not, how many generations will 

 it take to teach them? 



