Jan. 3, 1907 



American Hee Journal 



Imt when the flow is slower, or ihc sec- 

 tions are left on too long, the cap- 

 pings arc liahle to be darkened by bits 

 of dark colored wax being earned np 

 from the old combs in the lirood cham- 

 ber. In this case of course the new 

 combs are preferable. , , , , „ 



"Wliy use dummies instead of the lull 

 number of frames, and why are fences 

 better than plain separators?" 



Mr. Tettit— The dummies till the space 

 at the outside of the brood nest, which 

 would otherwise be filled with honey, 

 and when it is desirable to have as many 

 iinished sections as possible, no room 

 should be left for the storage of honey 

 beside the brood. 



■■.\re the sections over the dummies 

 tilled as well as over combs?" 



Mr. Pettit— Quite as well. Fences are 

 better than plain separators because they 

 allow the bees more freedom of action 

 in the super, and make them more con- 

 tented. Three-sixteenth inch holes bored 

 in the separators answer the purpose 

 (|uite as well and do not give w-ash- 

 board appearance. 



"WMiy does not contraction of ^ brood 

 chamlier induce swarming again?" 



Mr. Pettit — It does when the flow is 

 long, but bv the time combs are built 

 and brood reared, the swarming season 

 is generallv prettv well past. 



"What strain of bees is considered 

 best for comb honev production?" 



:\rr. Miller— Hybrids. 



"Shall we winter bees inside or out- 

 doors?" 



Mr. Miller— Outside wintering in out- 

 yards gives best results in spring. To 

 keep the storm from driving in the en- 

 trance, tip the hive well forward. 



"Have you had any experience win- 

 tering bees in a trench?" 



Mr. Miller— None. 



Mr. Whitesides — A number of years 

 ago. I wintered 6 colonies that way quite 

 \vell. The next winter I had them two 

 <ieep in the trench, and the lower tier all 

 died. 



QuEENLESS Colonies in Spring. 



"Can colonies coming out of winter- 

 quarters queenless be given a queen suc- 

 cessfully?" 



Mr. Miller — No. Not successfully. 



Mr. Holterman — This can be done 

 successfully by sending away for queens. 

 It is nut worth while to fuss with lay- 

 ing workers, but a good colony with- 

 out a queen mav be queened success- 

 fully. 



Mr. Miller — Unite a strong colony 

 with a weak one having a queen. 

 We must consider all these questions 

 from the standpoint of wdiat expense 

 will bring the greatest profit. 



Mr. Holterman — You can introduce 

 queens easily right after they come out 

 of cellar. 



In producing comb honey, use a queen- 

 e.xcluder over starters below the super 

 if there are combs in the super instead 

 of foundation. 



Mr. Miller finds a gasoline engine very 

 helpful in extracting. It ' saves more 

 than a man's work. With that and a 

 good uncapping machine he could al- 

 most "sit down." 



Referring to the Alexander Method 

 of building up weak colonies in spring, 

 Morlev Pettit said, "Put the weak col- 



ony on a strong one with two queen- 

 excluders between. Then in 2 or 3 weeks 

 remove the strong colony to the va- 

 cant stand originally occupied by the 

 weak one." 



COVKRNMK.NT IlKl.r KOIl UKK-KKEI-INO. 



The Hon. Nelson Monteith, in his ad- 

 dress to the bee-keepers, stated that he 

 came with the open mind that would 

 enable him to learn from the discussions 

 of the bee-men what can best be done 

 in the way of legislation for this im- 

 portant industry. He believed that the 

 value of honey as a food was not well 

 enough known, and it might well be ex- 

 pected from the bee-men that they dis- 

 seminate information along this line, and 

 that there is also room for improve- 

 ment in the article put on the market. 

 This Province is growing rapidly in 

 population, and an ever-growing mar- 

 ket can be opened up if it is well looked 

 after. With reference to the inspec- 

 tion of apiaries, the Department is anx- 

 ious to do whatever is for the best in- 

 terest of the bee-keepers, regardless of 

 party influences. We recognize, said 

 Mr.' Monteith, that the season for in- 

 spection is so short that the work might 

 be furthered by giving more attention to 

 inspection, either by appointing more 

 inspectors or by some other means we 

 are not quite clear— districts for inspec- 

 tion, with an inspector resident in each. 

 The Department would like the execu- 

 tive committee of the association to rec- 

 ommend the names of these inspectors, 

 and would suggest that Mr. McEvoy be 

 retained for inspector of his own di- 

 vision, and as referee in case of dis- 

 putes in the others. Probably $l,200 

 will be appropriated next year for the 

 purpose of inspection. It was also sug- 

 gested that the secretaryship of the as- 

 sociation be located in the Department. 

 This had been found to work well in 

 the case of the other associatioons, and 

 would, no doubt, be beneficial to the 

 bee-keepers as well. 



The president said he was glad to have 

 Mr. Monteith at the convention and felt 

 that the Department was making an ef- 

 fort to advance bee-keeping. 



"We feel," he said, "that bee-keepers 

 are utilizing a product that would other- 

 wise be wasted, and that foul brood is 

 a very serious menace. It means a 

 $2000 loss to one man alone in the last 

 three years." 



A leter was read from the Department 

 proposing that the relationship between 

 the association and the Department be 

 strengthened. The Department would 

 like the executive committee to suggest 

 men for inspectors. They propose to 

 divide the province into six districts for 

 inspection, with one resident inspector 

 in each, Mr. William McEvoy, as in- 

 spector in his own district and as a 

 referee in case of disputes elsewhere. 

 They would proliably spend twelve hun- 

 dred dollars on inspection next season. 



It might also be wise, the letter con- 

 tinued, to have the secretaryship of the 

 association located in the Department. 

 This is "done in reference to the other 

 associations with profit. 



The present secretar\-, Mr. Cousc, 

 expressed himself as being pleased with 

 the new arrangement. 



Letter from Deputy C. C. James 



DiAK Sir;— Under instructions from 

 the Minister, I beg to lay before you, 

 for consideration by your Kxccutivc— 

 and if thought advisable by your Ex- 

 ecutive, to lay before the members at 

 your next convention— a proposition 

 whereby we think the relationship of 

 this Department with the Association 

 may be materially improved, the use- 

 fulness of the Association extended, and 

 the interests of the bee-keepers better 

 served. 



We have found that it has been to 

 the mutual advantage of the Depart- 

 ment and other associations to have the 

 relationship strengthened and the work 

 of inspection directed from the Depart- 

 ment. You will recall that at the last 

 session of the Legislature provision was 

 made whereby more than one inspec- 

 tor might be appointed by the Minis- 

 ter, and the work of inspection directed 

 from the Department. Owing to the 

 latenes in the season when this bill 

 became law, and also owing to the 

 fact that your Association had already 

 selected an inspector, it was felt ad- 

 visable to continue your recommenda- 

 tion, and the work was begun some- 

 what late in the season. 



We understand that the period of best 

 inspection is somewhat short, and that, 

 therefore, it might be advisable to di- 

 vide the Province into six Districts, as 

 follows : 



1. Lennox and Addington, Frontcnac 



and east. 



2. Victoria, Peterboro, Northumber- 

 land, Durham, Prince Edward, Hastings. 



3. Y'ork, Peel, Simcoe, Duflferin, On- 

 tario. , .,, 



4. Wellington, Waterloo, Perth, Hu- 

 ron, Bruce, Grev. 



5. Norfolk, Brant, Oxford, Elgin, 

 Kent. Essex, Lambton, ^Middlesex. 



6. Wentworth. Lincoln, Welland, Hal- 

 dimand. 



We think that it would be practicable 

 to secure a good man for each one of 

 these districts. In making the selection, 

 the Minister would naturally consult 

 with the officers and Directors, as he 

 would desire men who would be well 

 informed and carry on the work with 

 the approval of the society. We would 

 suggest, however, that the services of 

 Mr. McEvoy be retained, and that he 

 be given se'ction No. 6, providing he 

 would be willing to continue. This sec- 

 tion is in the vicinitv of his own home, 

 and he would be available for referring 

 to him any points that might come up in 

 connection with disputes in other dis- 

 tricts. W'hile we have in mind other 

 bee-keepers for the other sections, it is 

 not necessary to name them in this con- 

 nection. It is the principles of the work 

 a«Ti general lines of division that w-e 

 submit to you for consideration. 



This would necessitate a larger grant 

 than we have at the present time. The 

 Minister is inclined to think that next 

 year a total appropriation of $1,200 

 would be sufficient, as the inspectors 

 would not have to travel so far from 

 home, expenses would be lessened, and 

 should be able to cover a much larger 

 area than has been done under the old 

 plan. 



In the next place we have thought 



