.T.VM-ARV. lOlO 



G L K A N T N G S IN B K K C U L T U R E 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



the plants then being killed out root and 

 branch. 



A number of Canadian beekeepers have 

 already placed orders in the South for 

 combless packages of bees next spring, pro- 

 vided that prices are not too high. During 

 the last few days some of the breeders 

 have sent out their literature, and prices 

 are certainly not low. Whether they are too 

 high in comparison with the price of honey 

 and other products is another question; but, 

 I venture to say that should the tables be 

 reversed and we were in the South, the 

 chances are that we would quote just as 

 high if in the package business. The dis- 

 turbing part of the situation is not so much 

 the price, so far as I can figure out; but it 

 is a question of being reasonably sure of 

 getting the bees delivered without heavy 

 losses in transit, said losses to be borne 

 entirely by the consignee. True, the ship- 

 pers guarantee safe delivery when sending 

 by parcel post, but on express shij^ments all 

 literature that I have seen so far says em- 

 phatically, ' ' by express, at receiver 's own 

 risk." While it is only natural that ship- 

 pers are anxious to protect themselves 

 against loss, on the other hand it is just as 

 natural that purchasers desire the same pro- 

 tection, and I doubt if many will make very 

 heavy purchases unless those conditions are 

 somewhat modified. While bees will not be 

 admitted into Canada by mail under pres- 

 ent regulations, I understand that the mat- 

 ter is now under consideration of the postal 

 authorities and that a decision is likely 

 to be handed out in the near future. But 

 granted that we get the same ruling as 

 prevails in the U. S. at present, I fail to 

 see how this will helj? the shipper out very 

 much so far as guarding against losses is 

 concerned, as the custom house ordeal will 

 still have to be encountered. Granted that 

 customers are assured of safe delivery by 

 any means of transportation, and prices are 

 not too high, I certainly feel sure that a 

 great volume of business will be done next 

 spring in combless packages of bees, as 

 many beekeepers, both amateurs and pro- 

 fessionals, are contemplating doing business 

 in that line, provided the difficulties in the 

 way are not too burdensome and risky. 



I have just learned that the Ontario Con- 

 vention will not be held till some time in 

 January. No program has been received as 

 yet, and so I am not sure of exact date. No 

 doubt, the late date is accounted for bj^ 

 reason of the influenza epidemic that pre- 

 vailed in Toronto and other places a short 

 time ago, but which is now, happily, so far 

 as Toronto and vicinity are concerned, al- 

 most a thing of the past. The late date will 

 take away all excuse of being too busy to 

 attend and we should have a bumper at- 

 tendance. 



I hope to be pardoned for once more re- 

 ferring to another frontispiece of Glean- 



ings — that of December issue. The picture 

 shown there is, I think, a companion pic- 

 ture of one shown a few months ago. My 

 reason for referring to this matter again 

 is because the pictures taken, of which 

 these are some of the samples, were among 

 my very first efforts at working the camera. 

 I barely knew how to manipulate the ma- 

 chine, and yet the pictures of that first 

 attempt are about the very best ever ob- 

 tained with the machine, altho I have snap- 

 ped scores since that January day some 

 years ago up in the yard near Coldwater. 

 Whether it was because of better films than 

 can be obtainetl now or because I was more 

 careful in getting correct distances, fo- 

 cusing, etc., I am not sure; but the fact is 

 that I have rarely equaled and more rarely 

 ' bettered the results of that first day. 



In starting out another year, I wish to 

 make a personal statement relative to the 

 matter of answering correspondence that 

 invariably follows writing for any publi- 

 cation. Usually I try to answer all letters; 

 but this last summer, owing to being unusu- 

 ally busy and short of help at times, some 

 letters were never answered. To such as 

 received no answer I would ask your for- 

 bearance, and I promise to try to do better 

 in the future. May all the readers of Glean- 

 ings have a happy, prosperous, and peaceful 

 New Year. J. L. Byer. 



Markham, Ont. 



» * ♦ 



T„ Tfkvic Mention has been made but 



once or twice m beekeeping 

 literature of bulletin 685 of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. This 

 bulletin, entitled "Honeybees and Honey 

 Production in the United States," was is- 

 sued last June. Now is the time of the year 

 for reflection, for study and plans for the 

 future; the time for soap-box politicians and 

 stove-league-ball players. The basis for 

 much of the discussing of this bulletin is the 

 1910 census, but the yearly crop reports are 

 used to bring the data nearly up to date. 



The portion of this bulletin pertaining to 

 Texas is extremely interesting and should be 

 carefully considered by every progressive 

 beekeeper in this State. First, it is a mat- 

 ter of considerable pride that Texas is rank- 

 ed as the first State in the United States in 

 the colonies of bees, with 238,107 colonies. 

 However, it is estimated that in 1918 this 

 number had been reduced to 192,400 colo- 

 nies. The causes for this very decided re- 

 duction is the first matter to attract atten- 

 tion and should be of great concern to all. 

 We find that the data collected indicate a 

 very great increase in loss by disease during 

 the summer. This may be partly explained 

 by the natural spread of American foul 

 brood which is being reported each year 

 over new territory as beekeeping methods 

 improve and box hives are being discarded. 

 As a matter of comparison it is shown that 



