1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTUllE 



Notes from Canada 



By R. F. HOLTERMANN 



PINCHING BEES. 



Doctor Miller, page 748, Dec. 1, I believe 

 a pinched bee throws off poison scent, and 

 excites the other bees in the hive, possibly 

 for a long time, until they are ready to at- 

 tack every thing suspicious. 



IN A CHEERFUL MOOD. 



The editor must have been in a particu- 

 larly cheerful mood (shall I say optimistic 

 spirit?) when he penned that editorial in 

 regard to my pictures, page 747, Dec. 1. 



[We are always cheerful when we have 

 stolen a march, or, rather, " got the laugh" 

 on an old friend. — Ed,] 



EXAMINATION OF FOUI.-BROODY COLONIES. 



The British Bee Journal, page 463, after 

 drawing attention to some lawsuits in Ire- 

 land, refers to one case as follows: "In this 

 case there is no objection raised to the Bee- 

 pest Prevention act; but the bee-keepers ob- 

 ject with considerable reason that their col- 

 onies should be inspected during the height 

 of the honey-flow when the bees are in full 

 work. The act provides that the bee-inspec- 

 tor should be allowed to come to examine 

 the hives at 'all reasonable times,' and the 

 regulations were taken by the county coun- 

 cil to mean 'any time between April 20 and 

 Oct. 31 inclusive, when the bees are flying.' 

 The defendants contended that this was not 

 a reasonable time, and that it would be a 

 serious loss if the bee-inspector disturbed 

 their bees when in full work, as they would 

 lose three or four days after being thus dis- 

 turbed. Of course, one can easily under- 

 stand that bees disturbed at such a time 

 must be impeded in their work; and a bee- 

 keeper having a large number of hives 

 would naturally suffer some loss. We do 

 not see that there is any necessity for med- 

 dling with bees at such times; and the in- 

 spection can just as well be made either 

 before or after the harvests so as not to in- 

 terfere with the work in supers." 



The above is so diametrically opposed to 

 what we hold in Canada that I confess I 

 never came nearer pinching myself to see if 

 I was awake or dreaming when I read this. 

 In this province (Ontario) the desire of bee- 

 keepers, and their contention, has been to 

 have the inspectors out only when a tioney- 

 flow is on; that at other times the bees are 

 likely to rob and distribute diseased honey; 

 and if the colony requires treatment then, 

 it can be treated successfully with less trou- 

 ble during the honey-flow, but robbing is 

 the great objection. I fully agree with that 

 contention. As to losing three or four days 

 after an examination, ttie result of a mere 

 examination can surely not be that. I 

 would not be willing to admit even three 

 or four hours' loss of time, particularly if 



the combs were returned to the hive in the 

 order found — no, not an hour would I admit 

 lost. 



4>- 

 SHOULD A BEE-KEEPER HELP HIS NEIGH- 

 BORS TO START WITH BEES? 



Our well-known friend G. M. Doolittle, 

 page 752, Dec. 1, has an article on the above 

 subject which contains a good deal of sound 

 sense. I find that, from a business stand- 

 point, to say nothing about a Christian 

 standpoint, it pays to be honest and frank. 

 It is neither honest nor kind to magnify or 

 minimize the difficulties in connection with 

 bee-keeping. To withhold all information 

 and to refuse to answer a question which 

 can be answered briefly by even a busy man 

 is petty. However, I do feel that there are 

 bee-keepers who have spent much money 

 in gaining experience, traveling to conven- 

 tions, and experimenting. For instance, I 

 do not feel called upon to sit down when I 

 can not do all my own work fully, and edu- 

 cate some one else for nothing; neither 

 would I allow any one else to do this for 

 me. For years I have felt very strongly 

 that it pays a man who wishes to specialize 

 in bees to learn the business from a special- 

 ist and not acquire every thing by dearly 

 bought experience; and I for one have not 

 felt like teaching some one my business 

 and allowing him any more than actual ex- 

 penses while doing so. Bee-keeping is a pro- 

 fession. A man does not secure an educa- 

 tion at considerable expense, and then 

 charge nothing for instructing others. The 

 bee-keeping industry has been brought to 

 its present condition, not by governments 

 and government help, but by individuals 

 giving out what they have learned. The 

 safeguard against undue competition in bee- 

 keeping lies not so much in keeping meth- 

 ods of success secret, but in the fact that 

 not many will carry out those methods. 

 Those who realize that their crop has been 

 produced as a result of money invested, as 

 well as of thought, time, experience, and 

 labor, should be willing to share their 

 knowledge; but they have a right to consid- 

 er it worth all that can be secured for it in 

 the market. 



NOTES FROM CANADA. 



With these notes I expect to withdraw 

 from this department. To conduct such a 

 department properly requires a good deal of 

 general reading, and for over a year my 

 plans have been in the direction of having 

 entire liberty during the winter months for 

 gospel and Christian meetings, and to be 

 able to accept invitations in scattered and 

 needy sections where not much financial 

 aid could be given to Christian work or spe- 

 cial help secured for special meetings. 



[We are very sorry to lose our correspon- 

 dent. His extensive experience, coupled 

 with his habit of close observation, has en- 

 abled him to give to his brethren of the 

 profession not a few tricks of the trade. We 

 wish him God-speed in his new work. — Ed.] 



