418 



(JLEANINGS IK BEE CULTURE 



July, 1919 



a table grape; and many of the breweries 

 of the country have been converted into 

 creameries, soft-drink factories, and ice- 

 plants, for which with very little change, 

 they are well adapted. 



EACH SPEING there is a growing volume 

 of business between Northern producers and 

 Southern breeders 

 Dissatisfaction in early shipments 

 in Early Ship- of bees to make up 



ments of Bees. winter loss or to 

 make increase. The 

 Southern breeders solicit this business, and 

 perhaps it can be said that the majority of 

 them give conscientious attention to details 

 and have a sincere desire to please their 

 customers. There is no reason why this 

 volume of business should not continue to 

 grow if properly taken care of. There are 

 some breeders, however, who each year so- 

 licit more business than they can properly 

 take care of. They know from past experi- 

 ence that weather conditions may be very 

 unfavorable, but they make promises (per- 

 haps in the best of faith at the time), only 

 to realize very soon that they can not possi- 

 bly succeed in accomplishing what they had 

 intended. The Northern producer, in ig- 

 norance of the ultimate inability of the 

 breeder to till his order, does not re-order 

 elsewhere but lives in hope — only to be bad- 

 ly disappointed finally and prevented from 

 carrying out his plans. 



Quite a large number of Ontario producers 

 combined their orders for bees with E. V. 

 Tillson, of the Tillson Co., contracting with 

 a certain Southern breeder for delivery of 

 bees and queens in quantity about the first 

 of May. The contract was entered into in 

 December, 1918. (On account of the 

 fact that there had been numerous com- 

 plaints uncared for that this breeder at- 

 tempted more than he could possibly accom- 

 plish, his advertising in Gleanings had been 

 refused since 1917.) 



In April Mr. Tillson inquired whether they 

 could reasonably expect shipment as agreed, 

 and he was emphatically assured that the 

 bees would be forwarded on date specified. 



The bees were not shipped, however, until 

 some time in June; and there was, moreover, 

 considerable dissatisfaction in addition to 

 the long delay over the non-arrival of cer- 

 tain queens with the bees. The delay was 

 so great that many of the producers refused 

 to accept the shipments when they arrived, 

 saying they had no use for bees at such a 

 late date. 



The breeder 's excuse was the incessant 

 rains during much of May. Continued fail- 

 ures, however, and a series of complaints in 

 other years seem to show that the inclement 

 weather was possibly not the only reason for 

 failure. Moreover, there seem to be few 

 complaints against other Southern breeders 

 during this same period. It is the old story 

 of attempting the impossible. 



As stated above, perhaps the majority of 



Southern breeders have given satisfaction, 

 but the intense dissatisfaction which the 

 minority have given seriously threatens the 

 whole early-shipment-north business. Al- 

 most any one will excuse a breeder for fail- 

 ure to ship when it is downright impossible, 

 especially if proper notice is sent, but no 

 one will excuse promises by the dozen fol- 

 lowed by absolute silence. It is true that 

 this year especially, the weather in May in 

 most parts of the country was exceedingly 

 unfavorable. Then when the warm weather 

 came, it came with a rush, and in almost 24 

 hours' time. Then days of unseasonable 

 heat followed the three or four weeks of 

 chilly rain. Under such conditions the pa- 

 tience of the producer and breeder alike is 

 tried to the utmost. 



The wisest breeders do not guarantee 

 large shipments at any one early date. They 

 merely guarantee to do the best they can. 

 Making rash promises to secure orders is not 

 qood business. 



ao^Qf: 



A LAEGE NUMBEE of commercial honey- 

 producers are going into the business 

 heavier than ever. 

 No Need of Manyarenow 



Overstocking. making their plans 



for next year and 

 are writing to us, asking where they can 

 get better and more bee range. We are an- 

 swering letters almost every day covering 

 that point. If a beekeeper only takes pains 

 he can find more bee territory without lap- 

 ping over on the territory of another. In 

 our recent travels thru three of four States 

 we found some fine territory heavily covered 

 with alsike on a deep rich soil; and yet the 

 remarkable thing was there were very few 

 bees in some of the territory. It seemed to 

 us a pity that such fine bee range should 

 not be used; and it is likewise a pity — yes, 

 a crying shame, that so many, on the "pen- 

 ny-wise-and-pound-foolish" plan, will squat 

 their apiaries down within a fourth or half 

 a mile of other prosperous yards. It is re- 

 grettable that there is no law to prevent 

 those who have no regard at all for the 

 golden rule from poaching on the territory 

 of others. There is not a particle of need 

 of it; because there is plenty of splendid 

 territory entirely unoccupied. 



Just as soon as Mr. Poacher overlaps the 

 territory of another, he is not only cutting 

 down the crop of his neighbor, but he is 

 cutting down his own as well. There are 

 very few locations that will support over 

 100 colonies to the location. Many will not 

 take care of more than 25 or 30. When 100 

 colonies will thoroly cover a bee range it is 

 the height of folly to squat another yard 

 of 100 within a quarter or half a mile. Both 

 parties lose by the transaction. While the 

 second man has a perfectly legal right to put 

 his bees anywhere he likes so long as he 

 can secure a plot of ground, he has no moral 

 right to do so. So long as there are thou- 

 sands and thousands of acres of open ter- 



