970 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



J. L. Byer, Markham, Ontario 



By the time this is in print, the 

 Ontario convention will be a thing 

 of the past. We are hoping for a 

 good attendance, and feel quite 

 sure that we shall have a profitable 

 time. These annual meetings serve 

 a good purpose in more than one 

 way; as, aside from the possibility of gain- 

 ing some useful information, the social side 

 is often too little appreciated. " Man is a 

 social animal," a certain writer has said; 

 and when we meet any one without any 

 semblance of this trait we are at once apt 

 to think him abnormal. In our brushing 

 side by side with one another in convention 

 discussions we are pretty sure to get the 

 conceit knocked out sooner or later. 



As intimated in my last " Notes," the 

 honey market has been good and is still 

 brisk, at least in so far as I can learn 

 locally. My own crop has all been sold for 

 some time, and I have been forced to return 

 money for orders sent me. While I tried 

 to get honey to supply this demand, prices 

 quoted did not warrant the handling, much 

 as I should have liked to fill all orders that 

 came to me. Of course we did not feel like 

 doing the business at a loss, and at the same 

 time I am pleased that all the beekeepers I 

 wrote also seemed to be getting good prices, 

 as the general market is much more impor- 

 tant than any little business I might do in 

 handling some of the honey. 



* « * 



Since Oct. 15 we have had very fine 

 weather here in Ontario, with much less 

 frost than usual at this date. On Nov. 8, 

 and in a sheltered spot, I have just noticed 

 some tender vines still untouched. There 

 should be no excuse this fall in the matter 

 of feeding the bees for winter when such 

 care is necessary, in so far as the weather 

 is concerned, anyway. Our own bees have 

 all been packed for winter for some time 

 now; and during this fine mild weather we 

 have been wondering if it would not have 

 been just as well to postpone this work for 

 a week or two. On the other hand, if 

 weather should have turned out cold and 

 stormy, as it often does at this date, then 

 we should have been sorry bees were not 



packed. 



» « « 



Mention is made in an editorial, page 

 688, that, owing to so much rain, a lot of 

 clover is still in bloom, and this will likely 



increase the yield per colony here in 

 Ontario, as given in report the editor 

 quotes from. Yes, we have had more or 

 less clover in bloom ; but in our locality, at 

 least, ■' clover out of season," if I dare use 

 the phrase, never yields much honey. Does 

 it do so in other places as a rule? Some 

 years the bees appear to work on clover 

 quite freely during late August and early 

 September; but I have yet to see any sur- 

 plus stored from it ; but, of course, other 

 places may tell an entirely different story. 



* * * 



What would be the advantage if a proc- 

 ess of filtering dark honey were to become 

 a commercial success (page 829, Oct. 15) ? 

 As I see the matter, it would be better to 

 leave things as they are. The dark honey 

 has a place to fill, even if the price is lower 

 than the white; and have we any assurance 

 that the flavor would be changed by this 

 process? If such is not the case, "filtered 

 buckwheat honey " would still be buckwheat 

 honey, even if white in color instead of 

 amber; and such a condition would not bo 

 likely to help the sale of either the natural- 

 ly white or the artificially colored article. 

 There may be some good reasons for desir- 

 ing to have the dark honej^s made white; 

 but as yet they do not seem to be much in 

 evidence. A number of years ago I remem- 

 ber of this plan being mentioned; but so 

 far as I know it did not prove a success. 

 Perhaps the same thing may happen this 

 time, and so comment may as well be post- 

 poned till we have something more definite. 

 [See the statement by L. R. Casablanca, on 

 same subject, page 993, this issue. — Ed.] 



The question of aster stores has been 

 much in evidence during the past few 

 years; and after all that has been written 

 on the subject is studied, the matter seems 

 to resolve itself into this: Aster honey in 

 some parts of the country is altogether dif- 

 ferent from what it is in other sections, 

 whether this fact is attributable to weather 

 conditions, soil, kinds of asters, or what 

 not. As stated on page 829, Oct. 15, that 

 these stores are all right if sealed, we 

 should be inclined to agree, judging by our 

 limited experience; but, on the other hand, 

 well-known authorities from the middle 

 South have written me that in their locality 

 even tlie sealed combs of honey in strong 



