July 1. 1911 



389 



ra®^ 



^^(Dsa (B^ra^i^ 



J. L. Byer, Mt. Joy. Ont. 



Page 325, June 1, I am made to say that 

 there was abundance of nectar in the plum- 

 blossoms. That should read, instead of 

 " plum-trees," "willow-trees," as the former 

 is not jilentiful enough in our section to cut 

 any figure in nectar jiroduction. 



A few days ago, while visiting a bee-keep- 

 ing friend, I was asked if black bees are not 

 worse than Italians for balling their queens. 

 He thinks that this is the case; but I can 

 not agree with him in the matter. Any 

 way, the colony that did the deed this fore- 

 noon was pure Italian, and one of the gen- 

 tlest in the apiary. They were handled very 

 carefully, and did not seem to be in the 

 least excited; that they would ball their 

 queen never entered my mind. After I had 

 looked over the combs once I happened to 

 glance down on the bottom-board, and there 

 was the queen, encircled in a ball about as 

 large as a butternut. I picked uj) the ball 

 and plunged it into a watering-trough that 

 ha])pened to be near; but something had 

 happened in the short time she had been 

 balled, as she seemed unable to move her 

 legs at all. Close examination failed to lo- 

 cate a sting in her body, and I am at a loss 

 to know what happened. While she was 

 not quite dead when I left her on top of the 

 frames, I certainly expect that she will be 

 by to-morrow. 



The season of 1911 will be remembered 

 by bee-keepers here in Ontario for some time 

 for its humidity and remarkably sudden 

 changes in temperature. The spring was 

 cold and backward, then the warmest May 

 on record, accompanied by little rain, fol- 

 lowed. After a late spring the clover came 

 on with a rush on account of the great heat, 

 and began to bloom abnormally early. As 

 a result it is very short on the ground; and, 

 until a few days ago, prospects were that it 

 would soon dry up. 



Every thing was parched and dry; but 

 about a week ago rains came, and at present, 

 June 13, the ground is soaked. Whether 

 this will make a difference with the alsike 

 remains to be seen; but at any rate no hon- 

 ey has been stored up to date. In white- 

 clover localities I i)redict a good yield if 

 weather turns favorable, as the heavy rains 

 general over the Province are bringing out 

 the bloom in good shape. Unfortunately 

 for us, we have very little white clover as 

 compared with many other sections. Just 

 why this is the case I have often wondered, 

 as our soil is second to none in Ontario. 

 <(> 



Judging by recent issues of the British 

 Bee Journal we may thank our stars that 

 we have nothing worse as yet on this conti- 

 nent in the way of bee diseases than the two 

 kinds of foul brood, bad enough as they are. 

 I refer to the prevalence of the "Isle of 

 Wight" disease, as a large part of the pub- 



lication sjioken of is filled with reports, etc., 

 concerning this veritable plague to the bee 

 industry. So far they have not the slight- 

 est idea as to the cause of the disease, nor 

 have they any data of an authentic nature 

 to prove that any affected stocks have been 

 cured of it. In the absence of any proof as 

 to how the disease is transmitted, certainly 

 it would be wise on the part of American 

 bee-keepers not to import any bees from in- 

 fected countries. Be it understood that the 

 so-called "Isle of Wight" disease of bees 

 differs radically from the brood disease we 

 have to deal with, as the former attacks the 

 adult bees, while the diseases we have to 

 contend with are restricted to the brood. It 

 would be the natural supposition that there 

 would be grave danger in importing adult 

 bees from an infected district; but of course 

 this is only a guess on my part, for I really 

 know very little about the characteristics of 

 the disease. 



4)- 

 A few days ago I received a short note in- 

 forming me of the death of W. Z. Hutchin- 

 son. At no time has the news of the death 

 of any one outside of the family circle so 

 shocked us as when the sad intelligence 

 came to our home. W. Z. Hutchinson had 

 many friends here in Ontario, and he will 

 be sincerely mourned. For the past few 

 years I have had considerable correspondence 

 with him; and, while admiring him for 

 •many sjilendid traits in his character, his 

 unselfishness and optimism stood out pre- 

 eminently at all times. No doubt he had 

 his trials, like all other mortals, but he nev- 

 er made others miserable by constantly 

 dwelling upon them. More than once we 

 have received inspiration from his splendid 

 editorials, to say nothing of the sunshine 

 that always illuminated the few private let- 

 ters it has been my privilege to receive from 

 him. While at the Albany convention it 

 fell to the writer to heli^ draft the resolution 

 of condolence and symi)athy that was sent 

 to Mr. Hutchinson when he was at the hos- 

 pital; and from the reports received shortly 

 afterward we were led to believe that he was 

 on a fair way to recovery; hence the surprise 

 we exiierienced when we heard of his death. 

 The sincere sympathy of many bee-keepers 

 (all who have met him, in fact) here in 

 Canada will go out to the bereaved family; 

 and although the kind father, husband, and 

 friend has passed away from things earthly, 

 yet his memory will remain for many years 

 in the hearts of thousands of bee-kee])ers 

 who have learned to love and respect him 

 for the many good qualities he possessed, 

 and for the sterling integrity of the man, al- 

 ways exemi)lified in every business transac- 

 tion, no matter with whom he was dealing. 

 His place as editor of the Review will be 

 hard to fill; and in the home, and in the 

 hearts of his friends, there can never be a 

 substitute. 



