GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1919 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



convention did not reach him till too late. 

 The whole time of the convention passed 

 very quickly and profitably, and it was 

 with reluctance that those attending sepa- 

 rated at the close. The banquet was attend- 

 ed by more than one hundred persons. Hon. 

 Thomas Eeed, Speaker of the House of 

 Representatives, presided as toastmaster. 

 Among those who responded were Senators 

 Scully and Watkins, retiring President Hon. 

 Colin P. Campbell, incoming President Miss 

 Addie Sly, retiring Vice-President Mrs. 

 Floyd Markham, W. L. Cheney, L. C. Wood- 

 man, and E. M. Hunt. The banquet was a 

 most decided success and was thoroly enjoy- 

 ed by every person fortunate enough to at- 

 tend. It was decided to hold the next an- 

 nual meeting at Lansing, the date to be an- 

 nounced later. A summer meeting of the 

 State Association will be held at some point 

 in northern Michigan. The oflBcers for the 

 ensuing year are: Miss Addie Sly, presi 

 dent; Mr. Leonard Griggs, vice-president; 

 B. F. Kindig, secretary-treasurer. A more 

 extended review of the proceedings will be 

 found from month to month in the Beekeep- 

 ers' Letter, which will be sent to the 

 names on our mailing list. 



East Lansing, Mich. B. F. Kindig. 



* « » 



In Ontario. — A. "^f^'^^.K^^ brood -nest 



about solid with honey is 

 an ideal condition for a colony wintering 

 outdoors to be in, during a very mild Janu- 

 ary. That is what I meant to make clear 

 on page 95, February issue of Gleanings. 



A regrettable error occurs in my copy for 

 the February issue relative to the death of 

 Mr. Brunne. Mr. Brunne, Jr., is alive and 

 attended our convention in February, my 

 informant having got the wrong informa- 

 tion in a measure. It was Mr. Brunne, Sr., 

 who passed away instead of the son, as I 

 intimated . Mr. Brunne, Jr., informed me 

 while at the convention that his father and 

 his uncle both had died within a few days of 

 each other. 



This is a very peculiar winter here in On- 

 tario, and, no doubt, the same conditions in 

 a measure prevail in a great many other 

 sections in this latitude. It is now Feb. 7, 

 and cars are running on the roads as in the 

 summer season, and fields all around are 

 bare of snow. There has been little severe 

 weather to date, only a few days reaching 

 zero, and the sunsets for the last few days 

 remind one of late March instead of early 

 February. What this brand of weather 

 means for the bee business is, of course, 

 only a matter of conjecture. Owing to little, 

 extreme weather, clover and fall wheat ap- 

 pear to be all right, but what is in store 

 during the next six weeks may tell another 

 story. Eeports from Ottawa and from points 

 near the Vermont boundary in Quebec state 

 that there they have six inches or more of 



snow on the level and have had that about 

 all winter. Bees have had thoro flights in 

 southwest Ontario, while here (ours at 

 least) have not had a general flight altho 

 many colonies have had partial flights. 



The honey market seems to be dull and 

 dealers are loath to buy large quantities 

 and at prices anywhere near what prevail- 

 ed a short time ago. Lack of export demand 

 is their explanation, and while they do not 

 claim that honey is actually much lower yet 

 they hesitate to buy. Just recently I was 

 shown a press item that stated that Great 

 Britain had removed all import restrictions 

 on syrups, molasses, and other articles of 

 like nature (this would undoubtedly include 

 honey), the ruling going into effect on Feb. 

 24. Possibly, this may clear up the market 

 situation a bit; but, personally, I believe 

 the crest of high prices has been passed, and 

 that honey in line with other food commodi- 

 ties will gradually fall a little from present 

 quotations. 



The Ontario Beekeepers' Association met 

 in Toronto on Feb. 4, 5, and 6 with a large 

 attendance, running between 200 and 300 

 for the various sessions. Interest was keen 

 thruout the whole three days and a profit- 

 able and pleasant time was spent. Dr. 

 Gates made his first appearance before the 

 Ontario members of the fraternity since ac- 

 cepting the office at Guelph, and met with a 

 very cordial reception. His announcements 

 as to policy to be formed sound progressive, 

 and he will have the good wishes of the 

 great majority of the beekeepers of the 

 Province. Space forbids my going into de- 

 tails, but aside from work in laboratory 

 and actual teaching in the college, much ex- 

 perimental work is contemplated. Nearly 

 if not all the speakers on various topics at 

 the meeting were optimistic as to the future, 

 but most thought that there would be a 

 slight falling off in prices next season in 

 case a good crop was assured. The impor- 

 tance of having motor cars for assisting in 

 apiary work was emphasized by a number, 

 and in this respect it would have been a 

 source of interest to have ascertained how 

 many in attendance were using autos. Cer- 

 tainly the number would have been quite 

 large, while but a few years ago it was an 

 easy matter to mention the few that used 

 cars. Generally speaking, a light truck was 

 favored rather than a heavy one, or trailer. 

 We have a trailer for one of our cars, but 

 after two years' use have come to the con- 

 clusion that we would much prefer a light 

 truck. Farming combined with beekeeping 

 was a live subject, and while the argument 

 can be made interesting from the stand- 

 point as to whether specializing pays best 

 in either line as compared with the two 

 combined, certainly it was made apparent 

 that some good beekeepers and some good 

 farmers are combining the two with great 



