346 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



April 19, 1906 



very strong the honey will be ripened in one-half the time 

 that is required by a weak colony. 



Mr. Kirkpatrick leaves his extracting combs on as long 

 as possible before extracting. 



Spring Management of Bees. 



Mr. Hilton — First note the condition of the bees — see if 

 they have a queen and stores. To feed for stimulating you 

 get the best results by feeding from the outside. Use the 

 Simplicity feeder. We should be very careful in the spread- 

 ing of brood. A little honey fed early saves much early 

 brood, as the bees can reach it without having to go to the 

 outside combs to get it. 



Mr. Kirkpatrick does not feed unless the bees need the 

 honey. 



Mr. Chapman would not feed very early, but would 

 advise feeding when the bees are breeding very fast in May. 



Pres. Kirkpatrick then appointed Messrs. Hubert Root, 

 W. Z. Hutchinson, and Geo. E. Hilton, to act as judges on 

 the honey displayed, and to award the nrizes. 



(Continued next week.) 



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Conducted by Morley Pettit, Villa Nova, Ont. 



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Changes in Apiarian Freight-Rates 



The Transportation Committee appointed by the Onta- 

 rio Bee-Keepers' Association to meet the Dominion Railway 

 Commission, with reference to better rates on bee-keepers' 

 goods, have some improvement to report, but not much. 

 The committee consists of R. F. Holtermann, J. D. Evans 

 and Wm. Couse. The following are the changes made : 



_ , Less than Carload. Carload 



Beeswax changed from 1st 



To 2d 4th 



Honey in pails with wooden covers added, at 



same ratings as in kegs or barrels 2d 4th 



Bees in hives changd from 3 — 1 3d 



minimum 20,000 lbs. 



To 3—1 2d 



minimum 12,000 lbs. 

 Comb (sections, etc.) wood not now rated 

 boxes or bundles, if knocked down flat or 

 folded flat in bundles, crates or boxes 3d 5th 



Who Should Keep Bees? 



C. O. Jones, of Bedford, Quebec, goes into this question 

 quite fully in the Family Herald and Weekly Star. His an- 

 swer is, " None are so well adapted to it by the circum- 

 stances of their surroundings as the average farmer. " He 

 says further : 



The bees will require intelligent care and attention at a time when 

 the farmer is busy with his other duties, but from personal experience 

 I know that they will not interfere unduly with the other farm duties. 

 For several years I ran a large farm and conducted an apiary from 

 150 to 200 colonies, and I always considered the apiary by far the 

 most profitable department of the farm. We usually had a dairy of 

 about 20 cows, and quite often the proceeds would exceed the income 

 from the dairy. When you consider the amount of capital invested, 

 and the difference in the labor required, you can not but arrive at the 

 conclusion that bees area profitable adjunct to the farm. 



f do not mean that any one should ever try to keep bees without 

 a sufficient knowledge of them to care for them intelligently. Intelli- 

 gent attention they must have. 



The labor required to carry on an apiary of say 100 or so colonies is 

 not great. I would put it at one man's time for three months in good 

 seasons. If the season is poor, less labor will be required, and much 

 of this work may be done at a season when the farmer is not busy at 

 his ordinary duties. During the swarming season and the honey-flow 

 constant attention is imperative, but this does not last in this locality 

 longer than 6 weeks. There is no branch of agriculture yielding 

 larger returns for the outlay of capital and labor than bee-keeping. 



All of what Mr. Jones says is true ; but some points 

 must be clearly borne in mind. 



1st. The great majority of those who get bees on the 

 farm, through the lack of attention, knowledge or time, 



make a miserable failure of keeping bees. They spend 

 more money on hives and bees than would have been needed 

 to supply the family with honey. 



2d. "The swarming season and honey-flow," when 

 " constant attention is imperative," begins in haying and 

 ends in harvest ! All good farmers know how much time 

 they have for bees at that time, especially in the heat of 

 the day when swarming takes place. 



3d. In justice to his neighbor bee-keepers no man has 

 the moral right to have neglected hives of bees about his 

 place, on account of disease. Every one who owns bees 

 should be able to detect foul brood, and should inspect his 

 own bees at least once every summer. I know Mr. Jones is 

 not advocating neglected bees, but the point is worth men- 

 tioning. 



Now, how best can the farmer keep bees ? If he has a 

 son or daughter he can spare from the regular farm work, 

 let them spend a season with a successful bee-keeper in 

 order to get a little experience, then start them in bees at 

 home. 



Right along this line " E. G. H." says in the Farmers' 

 Advocate : 



While the natural home of the bee is in the country, the science 

 of apiculture is so entirely different from that of agriculture that the 

 two can not be followed to any great extent conjointly without one or 

 both suffering from neglect, more or le6B — usually more. 



Box-Hive Bees Like a Chipmunk 



Bees in a box-hive are like a chipmunk in a stone fence — you 

 know where he is all right, but that's about as far as your knowledge 

 or control of him goes. — E. G. H., in Farmers' Advocate. 



Tireless Industry 



The honey-bees are a brilliant illustration of the blessings be- 

 stowed by labor. It is their ability and willingness to work which 

 make them an example to every one. — American Cultivator. 



Yes, but like most other farmers, they have an easy 

 time all winter. 



Mild Winter— Good Prospects for Honey 



It has been a very mild winter here, and I think the 

 bees are coming through in fine shape. The prospect is 

 good for honey if we only get the right kind of weather. 



I wish the American Bee Journal all the success it de- 

 serves for the help it gives to bee-keepers. 



Clarksburg, Ont., March 7. E. Knoll. 

 ^m * ^^ 



Truth About Honey 



Owing to the oft-repeated misstatements about adulterated honey 

 and manufactured comb honey, in the newspapers, the Honey-Pro- 

 ducers' League of Chicago, 111., have published the following truths. 

 The idea is an excellent one, and both dealers and bee-keepers 6hould 

 unite in an attempt to correct this prevalent and erroneous idea. — 

 Toronto Mail and Empire. 



This is followed by a statement proving falsity of the 

 comb-houey canard. 



^ 



White Honey in Dirty Boxes— Handling Bees in 



Cold Weather— Ripening Honey in 



Open Vessels 



1. It is poor economy to have clean, white honey stored in old, 

 dirty boxes. 



2. Handling or disturbing bees in cold weather is injurious and 

 should be avoided. 



3. Honey will ripen itself if left exposed to the open air in almost 

 any kind of open vessels. — Mail and Empire. 



Nos. 1 and 2 are good, but No. 3 is directly contrary to 

 experience in our climate, where the air is usually more or 

 less damp. Pity such a statement should go out to the pub- 

 lic. The surface of a tank of honey exposed for any num- 

 ber of days or weeks becomes thin like water from the mois- 

 ture it absorbs from the surrounding air. Not only that, 

 but the delicate aroma, and even parts of the flavor, passes 

 off and is lost by long exposure. 



The hive is the place, and only right place, for honey 

 to be ripened. Then it should be sealed up in the shipping: 

 packages as soon as extracted. 



