674 



American liee Journal 



Aug. 2, 1906 



anadia 

 U«M?do 



Conducted by Morley Pettit, Villa Nova, Ont. 



More Ontario Honey Crop Reports 



Quite an interesting and educative list of honey-crop 

 reports has come in response to my request. It shows gen- 

 erally complete or practical failure of the white honey crop. 

 Of course, there are notable exceptions, and even from 

 counties where others report failure some men through ex- 

 tra-good management, or by being peculiarly situated, are 

 able to report good crops. 



Starting in the extreme southwest of Ontario— which, 

 by the way, is the most southern point of Canada (parallel 

 42° N. latitude), and is south of a dozen or more of the 

 States in the Union — one man in Essex county seems to be 

 getting so much comb honey he does not know what to do 

 with it. 



Kent county reports a poor crop. Elgin county about a 

 third of a crop, and Middlesex, Haldimand, Welland, Ox- 

 ford, Brant, and Wentworth send the same report. The 

 weather has been fairly good for basswood, but the trees 

 are so scarce in most sections that not much can be hoped 

 for from it. 



Conditions seem to have been better in Huron, Perth, 

 and Bruce counties. 



G. A. Deadman, of Brussels, says : " Clover has done 

 more than we expected at one time, and if basswood yields 

 we will have perhaps more than usual." 



Walter T. Box, of Stratford: "We have a fair crop 

 here — better than last year. Lots of clover ; bees not 

 swarming." 



From Wellington county conflicting reports : J. F. 

 Switzer says : " Indications of light honey crop ;" Joshua 

 Thomas, "Best season for many years j" A. Fyfe, "Honey 

 crop very poor." 



It is often noted that a difference of a few miles makes 

 the difference between a crop and no crop. 



Grey county reports poor to medium ; Halton reports 



poor clover with prospects for basswood. Peel, York, Sim- 

 coe, Ontario, Durham, Victoria — all report poor crops, with 

 the exception of E. H. Hand, of Fenelon Falls, who says, 

 " Clover good, and promise of basswood." 



Peterborough, Frontenac, Leeds and Lanark all report 

 light crops. 



Wm. Gibbs, of Appin (Middlesex Co.), says : " Best 

 have stored 200 pounds per colony ; average will be ISO 

 pounds." 



W. L. Wilson, of Elmvale, wrote July 14 : 



I wanted to see other bee-men in thi6 neighborhood before report- 

 ing. Well, we had a very backward spring for the bees. Nearly all 

 say very poor for swarms or honey. We have had one week very fine 

 for the bees. I can't complain very much. Things are rather late 

 here, owing to cold and wet. A great many bees got short of stores, 

 and that caused them to quit breeeding. That means no honey. I 

 fed mine daily at the entrance. They are in grand order for storing 

 honey any day that there is honey. My hardest job is to hold them 

 from swarming, as the season is late. Basswood is not in bloom yet, 

 but it looks good. If the weather only is right 1 think I will average 

 60 or 70 pounds to the colony, spring count, and neighbors 10, 15, or 

 as low as 5 pounds. 



I extracted from 2 hives for the first time this season ; about three- 

 fourths capped. I got 47 pounds from one colony, and 50 from the 

 other. They had 2 supers on. I took only one super from each. If 

 it continues dry I will soon extract all that is sealed. 



W. L. Wilson. 



John J. McKay, of Nova Scotia, sends this : 



The clover honey crop is a total failure with me; 3 or 4 of the 

 strongest colonies have about 20 pounds each. 



There i6 very little buckwheat raised in this part of the Province. 



Fall wild liowers are our main stay for honey. Fifty pounds of 

 extracted honey is my average from an S-frame Langstroth colony. 

 Such a hive is half too small, but I can not handle a larger one, and 

 the wind is too strong to use 2 hives with the supers on top. 



Last season I got 140 pounds and a swarm from some colonies, 

 but it was a very good season. 



I keep from 30 to 40 colonies, and have full control of the local 

 market, which takes 1500 pounds each season. John J. McKay. 



Alpine McGregor, of Inglewood, writes : " Almost a 

 total failure. I doubt if they will average 20 pounds each. 

 I expect no dark honey." 



J. W. Clark, of Brant county : " Unless we get a good 

 flow of basswood the honey crop will be a total failure this 

 year." 



J. W. Sparling, of Durham county : " Total failure." 



J. D. Evans, of York county . " No honey, no swarm- 

 ing, no ' not/link.' " 



Jacob Alpaugh, of North Bruce county : " I will have 

 a fair crop — about 100 pounds per colony. I have reports 

 from a good many, but nearly all report a failure in clover ; 

 that is, along Lakes Erie and Ontario." 



Reports and 

 experiences 



The Busy Bee 



The busy bee will busy be 

 If you be careless both'ring she; 

 Beware ye of the busy bee, 

 And be not busy where she be. 



— Selected. 



Honey-Flow Starts Early 



The dandelions were exceptionally good 

 this season. The bees built up very well on 

 it, and some swarmed. We had swarms here 

 May 31 as the result. Then came the wild 

 crab-apple with its exceptionally good honey 

 and pollen harvest. Its honey is of water 

 whiteness. Some of my colonies got as high 

 as 10 pounds from it. June 8 nearly all the 

 crab-apple and dandelions were gone, and no 

 prospect for any more for 2 weeks. It is now 

 July 2, and clover has been in bloom for 

 about 15 days, but has produced no nectar ex- 

 cepting on 3 afternoons, so far. 



After all, the prospect so far is not bad, as 

 it has been rainy and cloudy off and on for 

 the last 15 day6, so white clover has a good 



start now. Here are fields now in bloom with 

 alsike clover, which looks as though we 

 would have a fair crop. I have 4 extracting 

 supers on some of my hives, but, so far as I 

 can understand, the honey-flow is just fairly 

 started. Chas. O. Bergstrand. 



Lykens, Wis. 



Heavy Honey-Flow 



We are still having a heavy honey-flow. I 

 have to extract every week, and the hives are 

 3 and 4 stories high at that. The honey is 

 very thick and fine. I have not had a swarm 

 so far this season. T. L. Shawler. 



Mills Co., Iowa, July 6. 



Such Wonderful Discoveries In 

 Beedom ! 



I rather think Mr. C. Davenport (page 603) 

 has found a mare's nest. I've seen the symp- 

 toms often, and the cases are much alike. 

 The man begins to jump around excitedly, 

 crying out, " O me ! O my ! I've got a secret ! 

 I know how to make bees do — oh, all manner 

 of things. But I won't tell, not for plunks 

 and plunks." 



Some enthusiastic editor takes a special 

 train for Buoiblebeeville, N. Y., to interview 

 the wise one. Offers to pay him 10 per col- 

 umn for a series of articles describing his Hud. 

 Gullible editor brags about what is coming, 

 and tells his people to hold their breath. 



Always turns out to be a matter of locality. 

 Bees naturally <!:• things differently where he 



lives, because — well, just because. Why not 

 move to that locality? " Well — er — it's over- 

 stocked, and bees don't do those things any 

 more." 



Hope the present case will turn out differ- 

 ently. Charles Bender. 



Newman, Ills. 



Honey from Second-Crop Alfalfa 



Bees have been and are still storing alfalfa 

 honey rapidly from the second crop. The 

 first crop yielded little or no honey. 



Lyons, Kans., July 17. G. Bohrer. 



Bees Working Vigorously 



My bees have been storing honey since May 

 15. The honey season is not over yet. Last 

 year I did not get any honey from my bees. 

 I have a big trade on comb honey, and always 

 have to buy it to supply my trade. 



D. E. Barker. 



Oklahoma Co., Okla., July 9. 



Milkweed Pollen and Bees 



I am sending you a sample of bees with 

 something on their feet. What is it? and 

 how doe6 it get on the feet of the bees? You 

 will find 4 bees in the paekage that have some 

 foreign matter stuck to their legs and feet, 

 and one has it on its tongue. In one end of 

 the box is a quantity of the foreign matter 

 for examination. Sometimes this yellow for- 



