November, 1907. 



721 



American Hee Journal j^i w>=^ms»>i 



recommend. It is therefore necessary 

 to go a little further in the selection of 

 our combs before they go to the ex- 

 tractor. The combs whicli contain 

 soured honey have a varying percent of 

 unsealed or open cells sprinlded in 

 among the rest. Seldom we find more 

 than one unsealed cell in a place. Look 

 out for such combs. Taste of such sus- 

 picious honey. If the slightest tang can 

 be detected about it, reject it. I know 

 of no way to improve such honey, and 

 the only possible use that can be made 

 of it is to put it into the vinegar bar- 

 rel. It may also do for feeding bees in 

 the early spring, but I do not know. I 

 should want it all used up in brood- 

 rearing if I used it in this way. 



As dififerent conditions alter cases, it 

 would not do for every honey-producer 

 to follow the advice of even such bee- 

 masters as Mr. Townsend and Mr. 

 Hutchinson to the letter, and leave all 

 his honey on the hive to the end of the 

 honey season, from more than one point 

 of view. What may be proper and best 

 for one bee-keeper may be entirely 

 wrong for another. Located where I 

 am, the early honey coming from the 

 tulip tree is very dark, more so than 

 even buckwheat, and decidedly unpleas- 

 ant. The red raspberry honey and the 

 earlier fruit-bloom honey is also objec- 

 tionable on account of flavor and color. 

 If I left on all extracting combs from 

 the beginning of the season to the end, 

 my honey would be very poor as to 

 flavor and color. A sorting out of the 

 different honeys would be impractica- 

 ble, and I would be the loser in the end, 

 for color always stands first, flavor next, 

 and body last; this, at least, is my ex- 

 perience, absurd as it may be. 



Now what is to be done in such a 

 case? If e.xtracted honey must be pro- 

 duced we must extract before the good 

 white honey comes here about the last 

 of June, then again as soon as this flow 

 stops. We have to be on our guard so 

 as not to have any late dark honey 

 stored in the supers with the white. It 

 is a very unpleasant situation. I real- 

 ize how much more agreeable it is in a 

 location where all the honey gathered is 

 practically of one color and flavor. Vir- 

 ginia is one of those spots favored along 

 this line ; I have an out-yard there where 

 practically only white honey is gath- 

 ered. 



In localities where it seems necessary 

 to extract several times to keep the dif- 

 ferent honeys separate, naturally some 

 green honey will have to be extracted. 

 This answers nicely for feeding to 

 comb-honey-producing colonies, and may 

 be turned to good account in this man- . 

 ner. The washings from cappings can 

 also be thus utilized if not thought best 

 to make into vinegar. 



Bits of Comb Attached to Sections 



We sometimes come across a colony 

 of bees which is great in attaching little 

 waxen legs to the face of the comb and 

 the separator. I have not found this 

 to be owing to queen or any special 

 strain of bees, but merely a temporary 

 affliction. The next season, or even the 

 next super during the same season, 

 would be free from the trouble. When 

 the faces of sections are thus attached 

 to the separators by little stools, dam- 



age may result if care is not taken to 

 detach them. As suggested in the Oc- 

 tober American Bee Journal, these con- 

 necting legs should be cut loose. A 

 small saw, however, does the work much 

 more satisfactorily than a knife. The 

 blade of a hacksaw which costs about 

 3 cents may be used in lieu of something 

 better, and when it becomes daubed with 

 honey it may be left in a dish of water. 

 I should be afraid to use a hot knife for 

 fear of doing harm. 



Chancing Sections to Hasten Fin- 

 ishing. 

 My. Colton suggests, on page 682, to 

 transfer the unfinished sections from 

 the outside of the super to the center 

 so that they will be finished quicker. He 

 also says that he uses no separators. It 

 will not be satisfactory, Mr. Colton, un- 

 der these conditions, unless you have 

 sealed surfaces each side of each sec- 

 tion to be finished. When using separa- 



tors it is all right. The bees can not 

 then help themselves, but must cap the 

 section even. 



CoMD Honey by Express. 



The same number speaks of sending 

 comb honey by express, and that the ex- 

 press companies, if they accept such 

 goods, should handle them with care or 

 else pay damages. That is right. It is 

 a very singular fact that the express 

 companies demand a very high rate 

 for honey, but refuse to take any re- 

 sponsibility as to its safe transit and de- 

 livery. I have found it unsafe — nay, 

 impossible — to send comb honey in sin- 

 gle cases by express and have it deliv- 

 ered in good order. On the other hand, 

 I have never had comb honey damaged 

 materially when properly put up in car- 

 riers and shipped by freight. Do not 

 ship comb honey by express, is my ad- 

 vice. 



Naples, N. Y. 



Conducted by J. L. BYER. Mount Joy, Ont. 



Ideal Fall Weather 



The weather here in Ontario, from 

 September 15 to 25, was ideal for pre- 

 paring bees for winter, and a lot of 

 feeding could be done in a short time. 

 From Sept. 25 to Oct. 12 it was un- 

 seasonably cool, but now (Oct. 17) we 

 are enjoying balmy, summerlike weath- 

 er. This will give a chance for feeding 

 where necessary, if the work has been 

 delayed thus far. Unfortunately the 

 writer viras one who had to feed a large 

 amount of sugar; but, really, the only 

 undesirable part of the work was hand- 

 ing out the cash, as the feeding was all 

 done in such a short time. 



With three yards to feed up, the task 

 looked pretty big, but with about 20 

 Mailer feeders at each apiary, starting 

 Sept. IS, all colonies were fed in less 

 than 3 weeks. While all colonies are 

 heavy in stores, in our own yards I 

 think the clusters will not average near- 

 ly as large as in other years. Whether 

 there will be difference in results as to 

 wintering, as compared with other win- 

 ters, remains to be seen. 



The Next Ontario Convention 



The Ontario Horticultural Exhibition, 

 or as it is more generally called, the 

 "Fruit, Flower and Honey Show," will 

 be held this year again in Massey Hall, 

 Toronto, on Nov. 12 to 16. At the same 

 time (13, 14 and 15) the Ontario bee- 

 keepers will hold their annual conven- 

 tion. Regarding the convention and 



exhibition, the Canadian Bee Journal 

 has the following: 



"The Ontario Bee-keepers Association 

 will hold their Annual Convention in 

 Toronto, Nov. 13, 14 and 15, the week 

 of the Fruit, Flower and Honey Show. 

 A splendid program has been prepared 

 for the Convention, a few of the ad- 

 dresses being as follows : 



" 'A Chapter of Mistakes,' by R. H. 

 Smith of St. Thomas. 



" 'Foul Brood,' by Miss Trevorrow, of 

 Meadowvale. 



" 'Comb Honey,' by S. D. House of 

 Camillus, N. Y. 



" 'Distribution of Honey,' by W. A. 

 Chrysler of Chatham. 



" 'The importance of keeping the 

 brood-nest clear of capped honey by a 

 moderate use of the extractor, either in 

 the production of comb or extracted 

 honey, by E. W. Alexander, of Delan- 

 son, N. Y. 



" 'The condition of the industry in 

 Ontario,' — lo-minute reports by the 6 

 apiary inspectors. This series of ad- 

 dresses should be full of interest. Ow- 

 ing to excessive losses during the past 

 winter, bee-keepers should more than 

 ever pay greater attention to the condi- 

 tion of their colonies at all times of the 

 seasons. The inspectors have been vis- 

 iting thousands of apiaries during the 

 past year, and will, perhaps more than 

 any other bee-keepers, have acquainted 

 themselves with the conditions that 

 make for suocess in the industry. Their 

 report as to the state of foul brood will 

 also be of exceeding interest. 



"The honey show will be on a differ- 

 ent basis again this year as the com- 



