Jan. 22, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



53 



kI^^.k^VJ^^J^I^VJ^. 



Convention Proceedings 



Report of the Ontario Bee-Keepers' Convention, 



Held at Barre, Ont., Canada, Dec. 16, 17 



and 18, 1902. 



RBPORTED BV MORLBV PKTTIT. 



(Coatinued from pa^e 3').) 

 UNITING I.ATE SWARMS. 



" How and when would j'ou unite late swarms ?" 



In Aug-ust and September. Set one on top of the other. 



Mr. McEvoy — Unite them in the evening. Get the bees 

 to fill themselves, then shake the bees of one hive down on 

 the entrance of the other, and let them run in. Smoke 

 them well. 



Mr. Heise — Remove from each hive all the frames not 

 occupied by bees. Lift the remainder with the bees on 

 them out of one hive into the other, and the deed is done. 



BEST WAY TO FEED LIGHT COLONIES. 



" What is the best way to feed colonies put away too 

 light, no combs of honey being available ?" 



Feed them cakes of candy put over the frames. 

 This does not disturb them much, and by absorbing the 

 moisture the candy gradually liquefies and also adds to the 

 dryness of the bees. 



Mr. Evans told of a man who bored a hole in the top of 

 a box-hive which he had in the cellar, poured in a little feed 

 every few days, and the bees wintered well. He did not 

 recommend this method as one to be generally adopted, 

 however. Mr. Holtermann would feed two or three pounds 

 at one feed, then run the chances on saving them by feeding 

 the first thing after they come out of the cellar. A shallow 

 pan shoved in under the combs on the bottom-board is used 

 in Germany for this purpose. 



Mr. Armstrong — I have fed bees syrup every month in 

 the year except February and March. I use a feeder in a 

 super on top of the hive. 



Mr. McEvoy — This would be all right for strong colo- 

 nies, but no good for weak ones. 



EVENING SESSION. 



The following paper was written and read by W. J. 

 Brown : 



WHY I AM A bee-keeper. 



This may be considered a very simple subject indeed. I 

 often thought that something outside of the ordinary worn- 

 out subjects of spring management, summer management, 

 the best method to produce comb honey, extracted honey, 

 etc., at our annual reunions was necessary in order to make 

 them a little more interesting. But I hesitated for a time, 

 then after seeing a synopsis of the program for this meet- 

 ing in the October number of the Canadian Bee Journal, 

 and seeing your humble servant was down for a paper, and 

 that, about the first paper on the list, and without any sub- 

 ject assigned me, I scratched my head for a time, not know- 

 ing whether your executive committee was only having a 

 little fun with me on account of my Hibernian strain or not ; 

 and I finally concluded that in all probabilitj' that was the 

 case, particularly so when they selected that clever young 

 Dutchman over there to knock me down faster than any 

 two of you could pick me up. 



My first impulse was to present you with something a 

 little more out of the ordinary than even the one which I 

 have adopted ; but remembering that some one, a few years 

 ago, brought in some subjects that received pretty hard 

 knocks because those subjects did not treat directly on bee- 

 lore, I concluded that such ground would not be safe for me 

 to tread upon, and so I decided to tell you why I am a bee- 

 keeper. 



First, because of a natural fondness for honey — a fond- 

 ness that never relinquished its hold, and I never expect 

 that it will. Well do I remember when I was a " kid," how 

 I used to rummage the wild bumble-bees' nests ; even to get 

 one drop of sweet nectar made my heart glad. 



As manhood advanced, so also my ideas ; so then to my 

 joy a box-hive of bees I bought. 



My second reason for being a bee-keeper was that my 



instinct of nature ltd me on to search, and, if possible, find 

 out the mystery of the mysteries connected with the honey- 

 bee in those primitive days — at least primitive they were to 

 me, as I had not the opportunity of studying standard works 

 on the honey-bee, and bee-papers galore, as you, fellow 

 bee-keepers, have to-day. Yet every moment and every 

 hour of my time that I could possibly spare from other pur- 

 suits was taken advantage of in the study of my little 

 workers, and thus add to my joy and knowledge. 



My third reason for being a bee-keeper was the great 

 pleasure of having honey (Nature's sweet) on my table three 

 times a day the whole year round, and at being able to treat 

 my friends and neighbors to a feed of honey when they 

 come in ; and at hearing the hum of the honey-bee in the 

 apple-tree, the clover field, and elsewhere. 



My fourth reason for being a bee-keeper was the financial 

 side of the question, as I had an idea for a long time that 

 there was more money in bee-keeping than in any other 

 line of business on the face of this broad earth. But while 

 my taste for honey is as keen today as ever, and my appe- 

 tite for research in the mysteries of the honey-bee is as 

 ravenous as it was a quarter of a century ago — and there is 

 little even yet that afi^ords me more pleasure than to be able 

 to treat my friends and neighbors to a little honey, and to 

 hear the merry hum of those dear little honey-bees, when 

 they are in the clover and buckwheat fields — I must say I 

 am slightly disappointed in my fourth reason for being a 

 bee-keeper, viz.: the financial side of the question. True, 

 with proper care and management on the part of the manip- 

 ulator there is money in bee-keeping, but for the one who 

 has made a pile out of it a dozen have made a failure. For 

 my individual part, I have nothing to complain about, in 

 having taken it up as a pursuit, as I like the honey, I like 

 the bee, I like to work among them, and I like to see the 

 dollars come in as the result of my being a bee-keeper. 



And now look out and see how Mr. Heise will come 

 along like a hewer in a lumber camp, with his broad-ax, 

 and make the chips fly. But I am here on the ridge-pole, 

 and can fight bees, wasps, or even Dutchmen, as well as 

 any one. So, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to pitch 

 right in and make things lively for a little while, anyway, 

 even if you can not lick me, by showing Mr. President and 

 the cream of bee-keepers of this banner Province of Ontario 

 assembled here this evening, some better reason why you 

 are a bee-keeper than I have shown you why I am a bee- 

 keeper. W. J. Brown. 



Mr. Heise — These reasons would fit most of us, and 

 perhaps the financial reason is the greatest. 



SPRING MANAGEMENT. 



R. F. Whitesides read a paper on " Spring Manage- 

 ment." 



Mr. Post — For outside wintering we want things tight 

 and dry, and good packing on top of the hives. Great care 

 must be exercised in spreading brood, not to do it too early 

 in the season. Cellar-wintered bees should be kept in until 

 they can be set out to stay. 



Mr. Fister — Bees should be set out early. We set some 

 out this year on March 22, with a foot of snow on the 

 ground, and they did all right. 



Mr. Miller— Queen-clipping should be done in fruit- 

 bloom. 



Mr. Dickenson — If snow is on the ground when bees 

 are to be set out, sprinkle some straw around the stands. 



Mr. Pettit — Clipping with us in southern Ontario 

 should be done before fruit-bloom, else the hives are so full 

 of bees it is difficult to find the queen. 



Mr. Darling sees no advantage in waiting for a suitable 

 day to put the bees out. When the time of year comes put 

 them out in the evening, and they will be quiet until a suit- 

 able day comes for them to fly. 



Mr. Heise — Early clipping refers to cellar-wintered 

 bees. For those packed outdoors, we do not like to unpack 

 them until it is time to put supers on. I h'ave also noticed 

 that in a prosperous colony it is often easier to find the 

 queen than in one that is very weak. 



SPRING PACKING OF CELLAR-WINTERED BEES. 



■' Would you advise packing in spring for cellar-win- 

 tered bees ?" 



Mr. Miller— I used to do it, but don't any more. 

 Mr. Holmes — Put newspapers under the cover. 



CARING FOR EXTRACTED HONEY. 



" How take care of extracted honey ?" 



Mr. Miller— Put it into cans or barrels as soon as pos- 



