736 



(;lp:anings in jjee culture. 



Oct. 



to the width of our section boxes ; and my 

 opinion is, that very few will be called for 

 wider than H inches, after bee-keepers get 

 nsed to this thickness. Of course, they do 

 not hold a pound : but as comb honey is al- 

 ways sold by the weight with us. I do not 

 think it will be an objection. On the con- 

 trary, I think more honey can be sold in a 

 package costing at retail from lo to is cents. 

 than by using a section that holds more. At 

 least, that is the case in our vicinitv. 



KEPORT OF, THE CONVENTION IN 

 THE CANADIAN NORTHWEST. 



A nEPOUT FROM MANITOBA. 



fHlNKlNG perchance it might he nt some in- 

 terest to yon to hear what is l)ein{r done in 

 apiculture in this far-ofl Canadian North- 

 west, I beg- to report that, during the time of 

 the Manitoba Provincial E.\hibition last 

 week, a convention of bee-men took place, and an 

 organization under the title of the " Manitoba Bee- 

 Keepcrs' Association " was formed, with Chief- 

 .Tustice Wallbridge, President: Thos. Collins, Vice- 

 President, and J. Hammond, lion. Sec. An ex- 

 change of experiences among the brethren elicited 

 the following facts: 



1. That cellar wintering with chafl' packing had 

 i-esulted most successfully in this part of the world 

 during- the past exceptionally severe winter. 



2. That there is with us, owing to the numerous 

 and varied sources of supply, an uninterrupted 

 flow of honey and pollen from the very first open- 

 ingof spring bloom till the occurrence of frost; and 

 that, except when hindered from working by bad 

 weather or high winds, which are very prevalent 

 here, or from defective management, the bees con- 

 tinue brood - rearing without a break thi-oughout 

 the entire season. 



My queens are still laying at date of writing, 

 without the .stimulus of feed. In this connection, 

 Mr. Vaughan, of Selkirk, Manitoba, stated he had 

 started in the spring with one nucleus, and from 

 this had resulted no less than seven swarms, five of 

 ihem in strong condition. Our brother being anx- 

 ious to secure at least some surplus honey, was not 

 quite satisfied with this state of things; but, by the 

 way, friend Hoot, wliat a glorious time he might 

 liave had if he were only running a " bees by the 

 pound" business! 



:!. That our work this year woulil furnish but a 

 very imperfect clew as to the favorableness or oth- 

 erwise of the past season for honey, as all the 

 brethren had been running mainly for increase of 

 colonies with surplus honey put down as a seconil- 

 ary consideration. It is my opinion, howevei-, that 

 the frequent vecuri-enee of higli winds and wet and 

 cloudy weather that characterized the greatei- i)art 

 of the summer, warrants me in placing the lion(>>- 

 harvest at away below the average. 



Jit our exhibition the entries in the bee-line were 

 as follows : Three of Italian bees, two of comb honey, 

 one of strained, and one of implements— not a large 

 exhibit, you may say; liut recollect, it is only a be- 

 ginning, and, judging from the zeal and enthusiasm 

 evinced by the brethren at; the convention, there 

 will be a very different turnout next year. 



Friend Root, to appreciate our work it must be 

 borne in mind that we are all novices, struggling 



against severe and untried climatic conditions, so 

 that our efforts in a measiire must necessarily 

 partake of the nature of experiments. We have 

 much to learn, and perhaps quite a little to unlearn, 

 in order to adapt our methods to the requirements 

 of the country. Nevertheless 1 am convinced we 

 have good material in our new bee-keepers' asso- 

 ciation, such as will by no means be content to ac- 

 cept whatever dilticulties there may be in the way 

 as impediments to successful bee-keeping in Mani- 

 toba. J. Ham.moxu. 



Winnipeg, Can. 



Friend 11. . wiierever it will p;iy to raise 

 bees by the pound.it will certainly pay to 

 raise honey; for l)ees never breed in the 

 way you mention, unless there is honey 

 to be obtained : and wiien you build up tb 

 strong colonies, instead of encouraging in- 

 crease so much, you will lind that you will 

 have good crops of honey. 



DO BEES STEAL EGGS? 



ITALIAN THIKF STRAINS AN KC.C, OF 

 gi'EEN. 



A nr-ArK 



§ BEING friend Knox's article, headed " Where 

 did the egg come from V" has induced me to 

 give my experience with a nucleus colonj' of 

 Italians. I made the nucleus the 1st of Ma3', 

 composed of four frames. They raised me u 

 fine queen from an egg. I introduced this queen to 

 a colony of blacks w-heu one day old. I gave the 

 nucleus a cell just sealed. This one hatched in due 

 time. I took this queen away and gave them the 

 second cell. They hatched this cell in five or six 

 days, and killed the young queen next day alter 

 hatching. I let them go five days— no young brood, 

 no eggs, no cells started, so 1 gave them the third 

 cell. Q'hey killed this queen after hatching. I then 

 thought 1 would let them have their own way, and 

 go without a queen, which they did for three weeks. 

 Then I thought I would give them some eggs from a 

 choice queen from Dr. .7. P. H. Brown. Ouopening 

 the hive to give the eggs, behold my surprise to find 

 a queen-cell about half built, with a very young lar- 

 va in it, two or three days old. I kn(!w at once they 

 had gotten it somewhere else, so I did not give the 

 eggs, and in 13 days they hatched this queen, and I 

 tell you she was as black as a crow. This is a case 

 Ijeyond a doutit. where an Italian thief stole a black 

 egg. 



This (|ueon I kept until Iut brood was iiatched, 

 and they were couunon blacks. 



now A V()IN(! l^l'EEN KlF.F.El) llEH WOILD-IIE HI- 

 VAI, IN THE CEI.I.. 



I also held a frame containing a queen-cell about 

 ready to hatch, and saw a young (jueen just five 

 hours old cut a hole in the side of it, and deliberate- 

 ly sting the young (lueen within the cell. She re- 

 peated the sting three times, and then went on, 1 

 suppose looking for another. The bees went to 

 work at once to tear down aud drag out the dead 

 queen, and in about luilf an hour they had the job 

 completed. Now, friend Hoot, if these facts are 

 worth publishing, you are welcome to them. 



U. B. Williams. 



Winchester, Tenn., Sept. ~'(i, 1885. 



Friend W., you have given us something 

 very important indeed. We had long ago 

 suriiiised that bees do. under certain circum- 



