.Tri.v, I'M!) 



c, I, K A X r X (i s 1 X I'. K K (' r I, 'I V i; 



tl9 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



ian queen. Probably, the greatest need at 

 present is Italianizing. 



East Lansing, Mich. H. F. Kimliy. 



In Ontario.— '^^«ii«"7"^/ ^^"^ eontinu- 



ed spell or cool wet wea- 

 ther, a wave of extreme heat struck On- 

 tario on May 26, lasting until June 5 when 

 a fine rain came. Heat and moisture are won- 

 der-workers when combined, and the hot wea- 

 ther coming when the ground was full of 

 water has forced on a wonderful growth of 

 clover. As we had practically no days 

 fit for bee work previous to the 26th of May, 

 needless to say e^•erything was in a rush for 

 the four days that fruit bloom was out, and 

 even then not over two-thirds of our colo- 

 nies were overhauled and queens clipped 

 before the bloom was gone and a dearth of 

 nectar made colony-examination on an ex- 

 tensive scale impossible. While we can do 

 nothing with the bees at home here, at the 

 locations up north bees are getting enough 

 from thorn apple to keep them busy and 

 hives can be opened right along with no rob- 

 bers bothering. 



The Canadian dailies of a few days ago 

 contained a notice sent out by the Canadian 

 Trade Commission located in Great Britain, 

 that the demand for honey will be large 

 from that country this year owing to much 

 loss among the bees from various reasons 

 during the last four years. While the report 

 may be accurate in some ways, private in- 

 formation has seemed to point to the fact 

 that the honey market over seas is in a 

 somewhat unsettled condition, and that the 

 extreme prices of a year ago are not apt to 

 be duplicated this season. However, I sus- 

 pect that the ad\ice of the commission to 

 produce all the honey possible, with the as- 

 surance that a good price will be obtaiiied, 

 is absolutely sound; for, with other articles 

 of food soaring higher all the time, it is 

 hardly probable that honey will sell at a fig- 

 ure low enough to come under the head of 

 being cheap. 



Among the honey sources of Ontario that 

 I have never s^en mentioned if I remember 

 correctly, is the large oak of the forests. 

 While for years we have noticed the bees 

 working on the oak bloom early and late 

 while it lasted, yet the few trees in our 

 home section did not give one a fair idea as 

 to whether they j'ielded honev as well as 

 pollen. But at the north aniaries there are 

 large numbers of oak, and this year the wea- 

 ther was perfect while they were in bloom. 

 Our bees practically deserted all other nec- 

 tar and in four days strong colonies 

 nearlv filled full-depth 8-frame L. supers 

 with honey. Can any one li>'ing in a locaHtv 

 where oaks are plentiful tell us whether this 

 is a "omriinn occurrence, or M'as it something 

 net likelv to happen again? I ha^•e been in 

 the habit of telling people that only pollen 



was obtained from the oak; but, with the 

 evidence to the contrary so pronounced, I 

 will have to revise my ideas on the subject. 

 [This is of interest. We understood Mr. 

 Lovell that oaks bear pollen and in some 

 species honeydew, but not nectar. — Editor.] 

 We are reminded that the shipping of 

 package bees from the South in hot weather 

 is still an uncertain problem. A large con- 

 signment came into one of our Ontario 

 cities during the extreme heat, and in the 

 lot over 60 packages were all dead and oth- 

 ers badly damaged. An experience like that 

 is enough to discourage both consignor and 

 consignee. I understand these bees were 

 on the road for seven days, and that shows 

 very bad service on the part of the express 

 companies, as the distance can be covered 

 in ordinary passenger service in less than 

 four days. Whether an express company 

 can be forced to make good in such a case 

 as that is a question; but, in our humble 

 opinion, the moral right to do so is there 

 even if they cannot be legally compelled to 

 pay the damage. Given cool weather and 

 plenty of food, bees usually come in good 

 condition even if on the road seven days; 

 but with the thermometer over 90 during 

 every day of the trip, I believe that will 

 sjiell disaster nearly ev'ery time. 



Is foul brood on the increase or decrease 

 here in Ontario? While I was acting as in- 

 spector for a number of years and trying to 

 give conscientious service, viewing the lo- 

 calities that I worked in during those years 

 and seeing conditions as they are now, I 

 often wonder if the money I spent was 

 worth while. Certainly European foul brood 

 is increasing, and I have my doubt as to 

 American foul brood being much checked — 

 in other words, I believe it is holding its 

 own all too well. Of course, it will be point- 

 ed out to me that certain sections have less 

 than a few years ago; but then I can point 

 to other sections that are much worse than 

 they were a few years ago. I do not feel 

 like doing much criticising; for, when one 

 has nothing constructive to offer, silence is 

 better than destructive criticism. Certain- 

 ly it is a problem to deal with, and the pres- 

 ent demand for bees, with many inexperi- 

 enced persons starting in beekeeping, is 

 adding to the difficulty all the time. One 

 thing sure, the prosj^ective or present active 

 beekeeper must more than ever realize the 

 necessity of being able to diagnose the two 

 brands of foul brood, and in a measure thus 

 be his own inspector. While he cannot pre- 

 vent his neighbors from spreading disease, it 

 is a source of satisfaction to be able to know 

 that he himself is not a means of spreading 

 the plague. 



The clover and buckwheat prosjjects have 

 seldom been better and bees a''-^ as a rule, 

 in fair condition, except where foul brood is 

 si)oiling the chances of a good cro]). 



Markham, Ont. J. L. Byer. 



