1886 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUilE. 



477 



own to be improvements when they are subjected 

 to his insi^cction. It would take too long- for me to 

 go into further dt'tail as to the manufacturing- de- 

 partment of this g-reat establishment; suffice it to 

 say, it appears to he very completcy cquipi)cd, 

 as it may well be, since hero are from .«2r),000 to 

 $:iO,000 invested in buildings, plant, lumber, and 

 other material. The tin-shop, offices, wax-i-oom, 

 store, and show-rooms are somewhat scattered 

 around at i)resent. All these are to be combined 

 in one large brick building-, soon to be erected, in 

 connection with the factory. 



Meantime the practical part of bee-keeping- is re- 

 ceiving- full attention. I5esidcs the home apiary I 

 visited two of the out-lying- yards. All are in excel- 

 lent condition, and awaiting the arrival of the busy 

 season, "ready, aye, ready," to gather in tons of 

 stores as soon as they are to be had. Mr. Jones is 

 perfecting a new system of queen-rearing, of which 

 I am not at liberty to speak in detail. It is g-oing to 

 revolutionize that branch of bee-keeping, and make 

 it "as easy as rolling- off a log" for bee-keepers to 

 have on hand at all times a full supply of laying- 

 queens. The cost of production will be so cheap- 

 ened, that we shall smile at the old idea of dollar 

 queens I Thus, all things tend to lower the cost of 

 honey. 'Tis well; for wo have not only to drive 

 glucose and other vile adulterations out of the 

 market, but enthrone honey here as the queen of 

 sweetness, both in quality and jjrice. Mr. Jones is 

 also Avorking hard at the development of his plan 

 for obtaining ^Ijji's C'a?iode)i,sis— the coming- bee— by 

 a judicious combination of the best qualities of sev- 

 eral races. Operations on the Georgian-Bay Islands 

 will probably be susjiended the present summer, as 

 Mr. Jones expects to go to England in August, he 

 being one of the commissioners in charge of the 

 Canadian exhibit of honey at the great Colonial and 

 Indian Exhibition, which is now in full Mast at 

 Kensington. So soon as this season's crop of honey 

 is gathered, the best of it, in the most attractive 

 packages, is to be sent to this great show, in charge 

 of five commissioners, by whose patriotic endeavors 

 we expect to have a market opened for our honey 

 product in Great Britain, which will give us a 

 constant outlet for our surplus at good figures. 



Mr. Jones's many friends will be sorry to learn 

 that he suffers occasionally and acutely from an 

 ophthalmic affection contracted during his tour in 

 Oriental lands. He had a touch of it while I was at 

 his place, and it evidently causes much pain and 

 annoyance. Total rest of the eyes appears to be the 

 only source of relief, and this is not easy for one 

 who has literally so many things to "see to." He 

 has, however, a most valuable and efficient coadju- 

 tor in his wife's nephew, Mr. F. H. Macpherson, who 

 is now his partner and general manager. Mr. Mac- 

 pherson is an excellent practical printer, as is man- 

 ifest from the style and appearance of things in the 

 office under his control. Besides the Canadian Bee 

 Journal, the BecUm World, a local paper with a con- 

 siderable circulation, is printed and published here. 

 There is also a large and increasing job business. 

 A press of greater speed and capacity is about to be 

 set up, in order to overtake the accumulating 

 amount of work. 



Mr. Macpherson is on the eve of following Ernest's 

 example in the way of swarming off" and installing 

 a domestic queen. He is fortunate in having "the 

 leafy month of June" for the wedding-trip. I be- 

 speak for him and his bride the hearty congratula- 



tions and good wishes of all who read these lines, 

 and I feel sure that all will join me in wishing 

 the hai)py couple joy of their union, and many long- 

 years of conjugal bliss. W. F. Ci^ahke. 

 Guelph, Ontario, Caiuida, June 1, 1886. 



Why, friend C. your description almost 

 nialves us feel as if we were on the grounds, 

 and catching tlie infection of so much busi- 

 ness, and of a business, too, tliat is so wide- 

 spread in its nature that it catches on to 

 almost every land and clime where honey- 

 bees find a home. — We regard it a privilege 

 to be able to say (iod-speed to friend Mac- 

 pherson and his bride. I had a short ac- 

 quaintance with him, and an opportunity for 

 a little talk, during my visit in Toronto, and 

 I was pleased to note that he is business, 

 every inch of him, and a man who is well up 

 with the times, and capable of grasping the 

 great important points of this busy world as 

 it is spread out before us. — I am very sorry 

 for friend Jones's alfliction, and it must be 

 an affliction in good earnest if it is some- 

 thing that he does not turn off with a laugh, 

 as he does almost every thing else. How I 

 should like to see him in his busy lield of 

 work ! I am afraid, however, that the build- 

 ing of our own factory, consefpient upon 

 the fire, will again postpone the visit I had 

 proposed making this coming fall. 



PROSPECTS FOE THE SEASON EXCEL- 

 LENT. 



GOOD POINTS IN FAVOR OF SPANISH - NEEDLE 

 HONEY. 



fOU tell us not to write any thing on the sub- 

 ject of wintering just now, and we must 

 obey, I suppose. 1 will say nothing about 

 it, except that I came through with 57 out of 

 60 stands, 50 of them good ones, and that I 

 experitisented soma with absorbents and no absorb- 

 ents, which did not quite satisfy me. I intend to 

 make a more thoroug-h test of that next winter. 

 The three stands that I lost became queenlcss, and 

 I simply united them with others. 



This spring, especially April, has been the most 

 favorable veriuil season 1 have had yet. This is my 

 fifth season in apiculture. Gooseberries blossomed 

 almost a week sooner than usual; apples ten days 

 sooner, white clover was about two weeks sooner, 

 and I was quite surprised to have a swarm May 

 18th, some twenty days earlier than I have ever 

 had one before. My prospects are all excellent, al- 

 though, while the meadows are white with clover, 

 not much honey seems to be coming in. The weath- 

 er is favorable too. I do not know how many 

 swarms I might have had, had I not forestalled 

 them and swarmed them myself. 



SPANISH-NEEDLE HONEY. 



I was much interested in Mr. Andrews' article 

 concerning Spanish-needle honey, on i)age 357. I 

 quite agree with him concerning the points of this 

 excellent honey. It is the richest honey stored in 

 this region. What little I get of it I like to put aside 

 for my own use. Its dark color is no detriment to 

 its sale where it is known, and a great many folks 

 around here know its good qualities too, and pre- 

 fer it to any other. It is much less apt to sour than 

 white-clover honey; but when extracted, if it does 

 not granulatp it tends tp acquire a strong-, unpleaS' 



