98 WESTERN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Question. What kind of bees do you keep. 



MR. BEDFORD. We have the pure Italian. They have golden 

 stripes across the back. The pure Italian is supposed to be the best 

 bee. The distance that a bee will cover is remarkable. I have found 

 our bees nine miles from home. 



Question. How often do you extract the honey ? 



MR. BEDFORD. Honey extracting depends upon the season. You 

 can suit yourself about that. I might say that the honey produced 

 here is superior to that produced in Ontario. It is certainly better than 

 that which is sent up here. 



Question. How many times do you allow them to swarm ? 



MR. BEDFORD. That is a subject that we have taken up during 

 the past year. Two years ago we were troubled with excessive swarm- 

 ing. This year I gave them abundance of room and we had ho swarms. 

 By forcing them to make comb honey they will swarm more readily. 



Question. How late in the season would you allow them to take 

 possession of a hive ? 



MR. BEDFORD. It depends upon the season. You can easily unite 

 the hives by gradually approaching them to each other. If there is 

 any trouble between the queens let them fight it out. 



You very seldom have to feed them as the native flowers here ex- 

 tend their blooming far into the fall, but if you do the best plan is to 

 give them candy made by adding a very little water to granulated 

 sugar and allowing it to simmer on the stove until it becomes brittle 

 when cold. This candy agrees very well with them and there is no 

 danger of illness among them. 



Question. What is the cost of starting to keep bees ? 



MR. BEDFORD. That depends very largely on where you have to 

 import them from. Ours cost $12.00 a hive but I think they sell from 

 $7.00 to $10.00 here. $30.00 would start an amateur very well. There 

 are one or two men at Portage la Prairie who have bees for sale. 



Question. How close would you have them to high trees ? 



MR. BEDFORD. We do not like to keep them too much in the shade. 

 We find that bees in this country nearly always light on low bushes as 

 the wind is usually too high for them. 



Question. Which direction would you have them face ? 



MR. BEDFORD. They want the early morning sun as they start 

 out very early in quest of food but they must be protected from the hot 

 sun of midday. 



