366 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Notes from Canada 



J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy, Ont. 



This year, again a number of " apiary 

 demonstrations " are being held in different 

 counties of Ontario. Tliis style of giving 

 instruction in apiculture seems to be rapid- 

 ly superseding the old-style meetings; for 

 to the average student one ounce of " show 

 me " is worth a pound of instruction of 

 certain manipulations of the bees. 

 « * * 



I do not agi'ee with friend Townsend at 

 all when he says in regard to American foul 

 brood, " Once in a locality always in a lo- 

 cality," as I am sure we have many places 

 here in Ontario that were once badly dis- 

 eased that are now clear. As to European 

 foul brood, while we have not had the ac- 

 tual experience in our own section yet, I 

 suspect he would be more nearly right if he 

 applied that saying to ihis disease. 



My intentions are to leave home on May 

 14 and move 250 colonies of bees, with 

 about 500 supers and other supplies, three 

 miles to the railway, and then 200 miles by 

 train. In addition to this I have to make 

 by mail all arrangements for moving, as I 

 am now 200 miles from the bees. Now, 

 don't all speak at once and say that you 

 envy me the job, else I shall suspect some 

 are hardly truthful in what they are saying. 

 * « * 



In giving the Demaree plan of keeping 

 down swarming by hoisting all brood-combs 

 but one above the queen-excluder, please 

 sound a note of warning to beginners that, 

 unless they are very careful, they will have 

 a lot of dark honey in those brood-combs, 

 and the honey will be all off grade when 

 they are ready to extract. The seasons are 

 rare in this " locality " when all the dark 

 honey will be out of all the brood-combs 

 when the clover season starts; and for that 

 reason the plan of hoisting all brood-combs 

 above is impractical here, much as we might 

 desire to practice the plan, for it assuredly 

 will knock out swarming if properly done, 

 and give a maximum in the way of a honey 



yield. 



« * « 



Also make the "warning" very pronounc- 

 ed when advocating the Alexander plan of 

 making increase, and say that it is advisable 

 to use this plan only in localities having 

 their main ilow late in the season; for I 

 agree with Dr. Miller most emphatically in 

 saying that, for clover locations, the plan is 

 no good unless one wishes to cut the crop in 

 half. This year our bees are very strong, 

 many having to be supered in willow bloom. 



even if the bees are in ten-frame Jumbo 

 hives; and yet under such conditions I 

 would not think of breaking up the colonies 

 unless I were willing to sacrifice i3art of the 



crop of clover honey. 



«• » * 



Reports continue to come in, that the 

 spraying law is being violated this year a 

 great deal, and many beekeepers are fear- 

 ful that much damage will be done to their 

 bees. As pointed out in a recent issue, the 

 fine is very low, and many operators openlj 

 say they can afford to pay the fine rather 

 than stop spraying operations when each 

 day's work means about $15.00. Then, again, 

 many beekeepers hesitate to apply the law 

 to neighbors, even if the fine is low, as hard 

 feelings always follow a lawsuit. Something 

 will have to be done in the near future, 

 especially in the commercial fruit-gi'owing 

 districts, as the situation is becoming veiy 



acute indeed. 



* * * 



When sending that protest to Miss Tarbell 

 regarding that giueose-honey-comb canard 

 (page 281, May 1), please send another 

 protest to the chaps who are advocating 

 making queen-cage candy with glucose. Yes, 

 I admit that I recently expressed the hope 

 that honey could be left out altogether in 

 making Good candy for mailing queens, for 

 the queen-breeders' sake; yet I now see that 

 the remedy would be worse than the disease. 

 First thing you know, you will see a big 

 advertisement in the Ladies' Home Journal 

 or some other big influential magazine, tell- 

 ing us that even beekeepers recognize that 

 glucose is better than honey, and are using 

 it to feed their queens. In a case of this 

 kind, it is better to avoid the very appear- 

 ance of evil and be on the safe side. 



* * * 



The latter half of April was very cold 

 and windy, with heavy freezing by night 

 and thawing by day. Result, fully half of 

 the alsike is killed outright here in York 

 Co. We should be thankful that there was 

 a heavy acreage, as we still have lots left 

 for a crop of honey if clover should be in 

 nectar-yielding humor. Flat fields suffered 

 most, because there has been an unusual 

 amount of moisture in the ground. Clover- 

 killing was only local. Most localities re- 

 port that clover is in good condition. The 

 season for fruit bloom is one of the earliest 

 on record, for winter jumped abruptly into 

 the arms of summer about April 25. Good 

 reports of the bees are coming from all over 

 Ontario, so, needless to say, Ontario bee- 

 keepers are hoping for the best this year. 



