374 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



May 15. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF FBANCIS A. 

 GEMMILL. 



PRESIDENT OF THE ONTAKIO BEE-KEEPEKS 



ASSOCIATIOX. 



The subject of our illustration is now 46 years 

 old, and a Scotch Canadian by birth. His first 

 bee-keeping commenced in 1863, when a lad of 

 only 17 years of age. In 1864, in order to be up 

 with the times, he purchased, in addition to 

 Quinby 's Mysteries of Bee-keeping, a copy of the 

 third edition of Langstroth on the Honey-bee, 

 and also his first Italian queen from Mr. Lang- 

 stroth, at the same time procuring one of his 

 movable-comb observatory hives, which is still 

 retained in his apiary as a memento of his 

 youthful experience. Mr. G. has never laid 

 claim to being what many consider an exten- 

 sive or specialist bee-keeper, his colonies never 

 numbering more than 7.5. It is, however, his 

 intention, at an early date, to go more exten- 

 sively into the business. 



time, neither has he been slow in adopting such 

 simply because new; hence his preference for 

 such labor-saving apparatus as honey-boards, 

 bee-escapes, etc.; among others, a hive-cart 

 a la Boardman. 



Of late years he has taken an active part in 

 attending meetings, etc., and has, besides being 

 president of a number of local or county asso- 

 ciations, also been vice-president of the Ontario 

 Asso-^iation for two years in succession, and is 

 now president of the latter, having been ap- 

 pointed such at the meeting held in London in 

 January last. 



Mr. G.. like most bee-keepers, has had his 

 sweet and bitter experience in apiculture — yes, 

 has had experience with the pest of the apiary 

 — foul brood; therefore his determined stand at 

 urging legislation in regard to the disease for 

 two years past, with the happy result that 

 Ontario has one of the best, if not t}ie best, acts 

 in the world, the forming of such act being 

 principally due to the efforts of Mr. A. Pringle, 

 late president of the association. Mr. G. also 

 took an active part in securing the bill now In 

 force in Ontario, making it a penalty to spray 

 fruit-trees while in full bloom. 



In his younger days he learned the printing 

 business in his father's oCfice, and afterward 

 followed the drug business for ten years; but for 

 a number of years he has occupied a position in 

 the civil service of Canada. 



His family consists of wife and two children 

 (a son of 17 and a daughter of 13). It was the 

 pleasure of the younger editor of Gi^kanixgs 

 to meet Mrs. G. and himself at Branlford in '89. 



Stratford. Ont.. Apr. :.'9. A. Lamont. 



F. A. GEM MILL. 



His preference has always been for the eight- 

 frame L. hive; and with the exception of half 

 a dozen Jones style, for experiment, has had no 

 occasion for a larger one. However, he secured 

 25 of the New Heddon style as soon as manu- 

 factured in Canada, and is more and more lean- 

 ing toward fixed distances of some kind, espe- 

 cially as the moving of his colonies from one 

 location to another is not only a benefit, but of 

 late an actual necessity. 



The wintering of bees has been a fairly good 

 operation with him. both in cellar and outside, 

 and he is a little inclined of late to the outside 

 method, for the reason that, in his locality, 

 cellar - wintered bees need spring protection. 

 On this point he is satisfied beyond a doubt. 

 His location, especially since the late poor hon- 

 ey-flows, is. he finds, considerably overstocked: 

 notwithstanding this he has secured fair crops 

 of both comb and extracted honey. This, of 

 course, has not been accomplish(id without 

 proper attention to all the little rules and regu- 

 lations connected with the pursuit. 



It has never been a hobby of his to try every 

 new - fangled device appearing from time to 



DR. KELLOGG AND HONEY. 



A C'KITIC CRITICISED. 



You ask my opinion of the article from Dr. 

 Kellogg regarding honey. I think it another 

 case of a man's writing on matters of which he 

 knows little, accepting statements from others 

 which lie has not even attempted to verify. As 

 a result he has crowded about as much error 

 into a small space as it is possible to do. It is 

 true, that honey is not wholly sugar; but does 

 that prove that it is less valuable? Our gold 

 coins are alloyed, and who would say that they 

 ai'e "open to greater objections" because of the 

 alloy? The alloy makes them more valuable, 

 and makes them worth more as coins. May 

 not the flavoring material of honey make it 

 more palatable, and possibly more nutritious? 

 If so, it adds to its value as food. If the glucose 

 sugars, to which honey belongs, are not better 

 than cane sugar, why is cane sugar reduced to 

 glucose sugar, or digested, when eaten, by all 

 animals? Nature shows us that honey sugar 

 is a better food. Bees have to digest nectar — 

 which is cane sugar— or change it to reducible 

 sugar, before it can be absorbed. We have to 

 do the same. May it not be, then, that reduci- 

 ble sugar such as honey is more wholesome than 

 cane sugar, and that we are safer in eating 

 honey than in eating our common sugars? The 

 presumption is strongly on the side of the hon- 

 ey, and so the burden of proof lies with those 

 who favor cane sugar. 



That bees are not neat is a new idea. I wish 

 we could be assured that all parties engaged in 

 manufacturing our food-stuffs were as neat. 

 Bees do visit uncanny places, but in quest of 

 water and saline substances, which are not 

 mixed with honey. The nectar which comes 

 from flowers, honey-dew, etc., is clean, espe- 

 cially as it is placed in the honey-cells. It may 

 not alsvays be of good quality; but that which 

 is inferior, either in taste or color, is easily dis- 



