Jan. 1, Utl2 



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



Arthur (". Miller's article on page 6G4, 

 Nov. 1, is interesting: but in some things 

 he mentions, many of us will assume tlie 

 "Missouri" attitude before being convinc- 

 ed. Certainly cotton for fuel does not act in 

 the way friend Miller says when used with 

 our bees. What a good thing that we have 

 "locality" to fail back on! As to winter 

 temperature within the hive, outside of the 

 cluster, being within one or two degrees the 

 same as outside the hive, is a question, but 

 he may be right. If such is the case, one 

 would wonder why bees winter ;So much 

 better with abundance of packing than they 

 do in single-walled hives, in our cold climate. 



If all goes well I intend to test the matter 

 myself this coming winter, during zero 

 weather, as some of my hives are so con- 

 structed that a thermometer can be taken 

 from the inside of the hive without unduly 

 disturbing the cluster. 



The advisability of compensation for col- 

 onies destroyed by inspectors is a question 

 that comes up every once in a while when 

 the foul-brood laws are under discussion. 

 The following, from the British Bee Journal, 

 written by that well-known author, D. M. 

 Macdonald, hits the nail fairly on the head, 

 according to my view of the question: "I 

 have always been an opponent of compensa- 

 tion in any form. Of what value, I ask, is 

 a putrid m^iss of vile-smelling matter? The 

 most rabid must admit that it is represented 

 by a cipher. So also must be a collection 

 of combs fast hastening to this unenviable 

 condition. Why, the party who eradicates 

 disease or the cause thereof is the one who 

 should be compensated." 



The foregoing may be a bit too radical, so 

 far as heading ofT European foul brood is 

 concerned, because in some cases it might 

 be economy to the state to compensate, 

 where slightly infected colonies were destroy- 

 ed, to prevent the spread of the disease; yet, 

 in the main, Mr. Macdonald's views are rea- 

 sonable, as colonies rotten with foul brood 

 represent no money value outside of the 

 wax that is in the combs. On the contrary, 

 they are apt to be even worse than useless, 

 and a menace to the welfare, not only of the 

 owner, Vjut his neighbors as well. 

 -*- 



The Ontario convention was well attend- 

 ed, and in e\ ery way a success. From over 

 the line we had the different ones mention- 

 ed in a former issue, as well as Mr. Geo. B. 

 Howe, of Black River, N. Y. The conven- 

 tion was strictly a bii.s/nfss one, and it was 

 a question in the mind of some if this fea- 

 ture was not o\ erdone a bit. While we may 

 argue (as the writer has often done) that 

 details of management, etc., should be dis- 

 cu.ssed in local conventions, yet the fact 

 seemed apparent at our late convention that 

 many come to get information who are not 

 as yet interested in freight rates, coopera- 



tion, and a host of other questions that the 

 more seasoned bee-keepers no doubt rightly 

 think should be paramount. This fact was 

 made clear by the lively discussion that fol- 

 lowed any subject or question that would 

 occasionally crop up concerning actual man- 

 agement connected with the ajiiary. To my 

 mind it seems clear that we must be careful 

 in future conventions, and not jump too 

 quickly from one extreme to another, else 

 there be danger of cutting out the attendance 

 and interest at our meetings. This should 

 never be allowed, as there is no question 

 but that the social side of such gatherings 

 must be taken into consideration. 



It is an old saying, "All things come to 

 those who wait;" but this fall, in our par- 

 ticular vicinity, the man who waited for his 

 bees to have a flight before putting them in 

 the cellar "got left" unless he did the work 

 early in November. 



At the east yard the bees had a good flight 

 Nov. 6, and the 280 colonies were put inside 

 on the 8th and 9th. Here in York Co. we 

 had only 40 to go inside; and as the cellar is 

 not of the best, we like to wait till late in 

 November before putting the bees inside. 

 On the 11th they had a partial flight; and 

 on that day, wherever bees were outdoors, 

 both east and west of us, they had a grand 

 flight, as the day was warm and clear. Here 

 with us it was quite warm but very cloudy 

 all day. Little things like this show how it 

 is possible for much different results in bee- 

 keeping in localities only a few miles away 

 from each other. 



However, we waited in vain for a warm 

 day before putting these 40 colonies in the 

 cellar; and about Dec. 1, when the thermome- 

 ter showed nearly zero, the bees were put in- 

 side without having had the flight we were 

 hoping for. After being in the cellar for 

 less than a week the weather turned warm, 

 and has been warm for over a week now; 

 and at this date, Dec. 11, all the frost is out 

 of the ground and some plowing has been 

 done. One day the bees outside flew nice- 

 ly, and only the thought of the heavy hives 

 in the cellar prevented us from carrying out 

 those 40 for a flight. This carrying out col- 

 onies in the winter for a flight sounds all 

 right on paper, but is a different thing in 

 practice when the hives weigh 70 lbs. or 

 more each, unless you get the "other fel- 

 low " to do the work. When my son and I 

 started to carry them in we had planned 

 carrying them out on the first warm day; 

 but by the time we had them in the cellar 

 we had changed our minds, for we felt that 

 hvo operations of that kind are enough for 

 a lot of bees in one season. All things con- 

 sidered, I am of the opinion that, for our 

 latitude, outdoor wintering is the best, and 

 this opinion I note is being shared more 

 fully by many men who are in the business 

 extensively. 



