438 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



N^otes from Canada 



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



Just now (June 5) we are having a dearth 

 of honey, and a very severe drouth which is 

 checking the clover badly. As blossoms are 

 just beginning to show, naturally we are 

 earnestly hoping for a soaking rain, with- 

 out which we can not expect to get a crop 

 of honey. 



Later. — The rain came. 



* * * 



Dr. Miller, I want some more light on 

 that first Straw of yours on page 140, 

 March 1. You say that Dr. Phillips "is 

 ti-ying to learn what instruction to give the 

 hces for best wintering in cellars." Please 

 tell him for me that some beekeepers who 

 have cellars too warm, or defective in some 

 other way, would like to know how to " in- 

 struct " the bees to keep quiet when they 



get too noisy. 



* * * 



In June Notes I said, " The season for 

 fruit bloom is one of the earliest on record ;" 

 but now with May just ended I must revise 

 that and say that it was one of the latest 

 as well. Why this paradox? Simply be- 

 cause, just after writing that note in early 

 May, the weather turned cool and stayed 

 cool all through the month. Apple-blossoms 

 were open for three weeks, while last year 

 they lasted but three days. Little nectar 

 was gathered through all this period, how- 

 ever, owing to the chilly Aveather; but when- 

 ever it warmed up a bit, honey came in 



rapidly. 



* « * 



Commenting on the fact that we got 600 

 pounds of honey when melting those cap- 

 pings that yielded 350 pounds oi wax, page 

 379, June "l, the editor expresses surprise 

 that there was so much honey to that quan- 

 tity of "drained cappings." Perhaps it 

 would be better to qualify the statement 

 where I say the cappings " were pretty well 

 drained " when the evidence points other- 

 wise. At the east yard they had but one 

 uncapping-box, and it was emptied each 

 morning into the barrel after draining all 

 night. When emptying those barrels I 

 noticed that in the bottoms the cappings 

 were pretty rich in honey, so that explains 

 the more than usual amount obtained. But 

 making all due allowance for that, I was 

 still surprised at the amount obtained. _ 



As to using that honey, just now it is 

 coming in handy in feeding some colonies 

 that are rather short, between fruit bloom 

 and clover. It is heated to the boiling-point 

 with about one-third as much water as hon- 

 ey, and makes an ideal food. 



Page 216, April 1, shows two of Mr. 

 Holtermann's helpers taking combs from 

 the hive, one holding the comb and the 

 other SAveeping off the bees. If helping in 

 the yard myself, I should prefer to hold 

 the comb myself; for after the bees have 

 been pretty well cleaned off with a vigorous 

 shake that can be acquired only by practice, 

 about two quick strokes of the brush will 

 take off what few bees remain on the comb. 

 I am quite sure that I can do this quicker 

 and easier than with the help of an assist- 

 ant ; hut I don't object to the other fellow 

 carrying or wheeling the honey into the 

 extract in g-house. 



To us who are accustomed to seeing 

 " Southern extracted " honey quoted in the 

 honey markets at a very low price, the tend- 

 ency is to make us believe that all honey 

 from the South is of inferior quality. Mr. 

 E. L. Horton, of South Carolina, has very 

 kindly sent me five pounds of comb honey 

 gathered from the locust; and I wish to say 

 it is as fine a honey as I ever sampled, both 

 in color and flavor. It certainly has that 

 " morish " taste ; and while I was not prej- 

 udiced against Southern honey, really I 

 never expected such a fine article as the 

 sample sent me. In this section we once in 

 a while get a little honey from the locust, 

 but nothing in the way of surplus; but what 

 little comes in the hive is decidedly dark, 

 and strong in flavor. Does " locality " ex- 

 plain the difference, or is there a difference 

 in the kind of locusts'? Just as I finish 

 writing the above, I note that friend Bu- 

 chanan, of Tennessee, says that the locust 

 is one of his best sources of honey, and that 

 the honey is Avater-white, and of fine flavor 

 — assuredly a splendid description of the 

 honey sent me by Mr. Horton. 

 * * * 



Major Shallard says, Dec. 15, p. 797, 

 that a good strain of Italians will not lay 

 above the brood-nest. If he means that, 

 in an ordinary eight or ten frame Lang- 

 stroth without an excluder being used, a 

 queen of a " good strain," as he calls it, 

 will not go above in an extracting-super, 

 then most assuredly I want none of that 

 good strain in my yards. In the past I 

 have had some that would act just that way, 

 judging by their record at laying eggs; and 

 such a queen would be decapitated just as 

 soon as her peculiarity was noticed. No, 

 sir; in this country, at least, where rapid 

 building-up in the spring is not only desir- 

 able but simply imperative, we must have 



