1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



457 



NOTES FROM CANADA 



By K. F. IIoltermann. 



This season I am running about 350 colo- 

 nies of bees in three apiaries with no help 

 but some one to smoke the bees for me, and 

 I am getting a very fair crop too. I expect 

 to hire help to extract, anticipating a buck- 

 wheat flow. 



<«> 



THE HONEY CROP. 



At this date, July 12, the honey crop in 

 Canada can scarcely be estimated. Take the 

 Dominion as a whole, owing to the lack of 

 rainfall in many sections we do not anticipate 

 a bumper crop, and yet there will, no doubt, 

 be sufficient noney to supply fairly well our 

 present home market. In at least a consid- 

 erable number of sections there has been a 

 good yield from clover, and it is quite pos- 

 sible that we may have more honey from 

 thistle and basswood. 

 ■^ 



WEDGtS UNDER THE BROOD-CHAMBER. 



I am a strong advocate of the wedges de- 

 signed by S. T. Pettit. They are 's in. deep 

 at the thickest part; and, placed between the 

 bottom-board and brood-chamber at the 

 sides, they make the entrance to the hive H 

 in. deeper than the width of the hive. I have 

 often stated that it has not been my experi- 

 ence that the bees build comb between the 

 bottom-bars of the frames and the bottom of 

 the hives. This year, after some ten years' 

 experience, I for the first time find that 

 many colonies have built comb under the 

 bottom-bars. 



HONEY-DEW. 

 At the Haldimand convention a member 

 stated that the bees were working freely on 

 plum-trees, although there were no blossoms. 

 Some one suggested aphides (plant lice). 

 The reply was tnat this could not be, as the 

 leaves were perfectly bright and clean. Up- 

 on my return to my own apiary I found the 

 bees working on the plum leaves as stated, 

 and I also found a sweet liquid substance on 

 the leaves. It was agreeable to the taste, 

 and appeared to be lignt in color. The tops 

 of the leaves were free from aphides; but 

 when the under sides were examined (this 

 is where aphides do their work), colonies of 

 plant lice were found. Close investigation 

 often reveals the source of a thing. It is like 

 the hidden gold — found by the careful ex- 

 aminer. 



THE NEW BEE DISEASE IN CANADA. 



The Haldimand Bee-keepers' Association 

 met at the residence of Mr. O. Warner, on 

 June 12. Practical demonstrations took place 

 in the apiary, and refreshments were kmdly 

 served by the Misses Warner, making the 

 meeting both profitable and enjoyable. 



The most striking feature of the meeting 

 was a statement made by Mr. Morley Pettit, 

 provincial apiarist. Mr. Pettit had just re- 

 turned from Durham Co., where the new 



kind of foul brood had broken out last year. 

 Mr. J. L. Byer, at that time inspector in the 

 district, stated at the National convention, 

 Detroit, and at the Ontario convention in 

 Toronto, that the outbreak of this disease 

 (called by some European foul brood) was 

 much more serious than that previously 

 known to Canadians. Some lather sneered 

 at Mr. Byer, and considered him unduly 

 alarmed. My own suggestion at Detroit, that 

 the government had better buy the diseased 

 apiaries and destroy them before the disease 

 spread over a wider area, was also laughed 

 at; but laughter is neither logic nor reason. 

 Mr. Pettit stated that the disease (new in 

 Canada) was spreading at a fearful rate; that 

 it was far more virulent than that known 

 previously in Canada, and that he was very 

 much exercised about it. One apiary of 168 

 colonies had been reduced to 23; another of 

 180 to 40, and the 40 were all diseased. Oth- 

 er instances, equally alarming, were given. 

 He stated that the bee-keepers were going 

 to co-operate in their treatment, and treat 

 every colony in an apiary, even if a portion 

 appeared free from tne disease. Mr. Pettit 

 also stated that the bee-keepers had been 

 forced to the conclusion that the disease 

 spreads by means other than the robbing of 

 affected colonies. 



The writer of these notes suggested that, 

 as the bees cleaned out the diseased larvae, 

 contrary to the ordinary foul brood, the lar- 

 vae might dry out, and in that light condition 

 blow into other hives, and that Mr. S. D. 

 House had said it was found well to change 

 the situation of the apiary to help cure the 

 disease. If the larvae.were blown about, the 

 more rapid spread of the disease might in 

 part be accounted for. However, since com- 

 ing home I have still another theory to ad- 

 vance to account for its spread. The bees, 

 when cleaning out the dead brood, must of 

 necessity come in contact with the germs of 

 the disease. When they visit blossoms they 

 may leave the germs on them, they may even 

 leave them in the nectaries of the blossoms. 

 When these blossoms are visited by bees 

 from healthy colonies the bees may carry the 

 germs home and establish the disease there. 

 Bees from diseased stocks should be bacteri- 

 ologically examined, and, if possible, blos- 

 soms also. 



Meanwhile, I repeat it would have been 

 better had the affected apiary been destroy- 

 ed in the first place; and now with as little 

 "red tape "as possible, and as quickly as 

 possible, the colonies in the affected district 

 had better be destroyed, and compensation 

 be made to the owners by the Dominion gov- 

 ernment, as it has power to act in this matter 

 under the " Contagious Disease " act. The 

 Provincial government has also power under 

 the foul-brood act to deal with this matter. 

 Perhaps the expense could be shared jointly 

 by the two governments. In any case the 

 initial expense would be only a trifle com- 

 pared with the later cost. We do not want 

 this new disease to sweep over the province 

 or the dominion through carelessness or lack 

 of energy, or by belittling its danger. 



