MARCH 1, 1916 



NOTES FROM CANADA 



J. L. Byer, Markham, Ont. 



Mention is made in the January 

 Ist issue that it has been rather 

 cold in Florida. My father is 

 " wintering " on the east coast, 

 about 100 miles snuth of Jack- 

 sonville, and he writes me that 

 during all January there were on- 

 ly three days when he wore a coat, and 

 there had been no frost wliatcver. Inciden" 

 tally he says in one letter, "This place looks 

 like a paradise to me " — some boost for 



Florida, eh? 



* * * 



The cold weather predicted in my Notes 

 for January 1 has failed to arrive. At this 

 date, Feb. 5, we have had little severe 

 weather and almost no snow. We have had 

 abundance of rain and much mild weather 

 all thru January, but not nearly as warm 

 as friends in Ohio have written me about, 

 when the thermometer went up to over 60 

 degrees. The highest noted here was 47 on 

 two different days, and unfortunately both 

 of those days were very cloudy, so after 

 having a very mild January our bees did 

 not haye a thoro flight. No doubt in some 

 sections of Ontario if the sun shone on 

 those two very m.ild days the bees had a 

 fine flight. Even at the north yard, where 

 snowfall is usually heavy, there has been 

 but little there this season. 



On page 75, Jan. 15, request is made 

 from purchasers of queens that they report 

 percentage of pure matings in untested 

 queens bought. We have bought a lot of 

 queens, and only the untested brand; and 

 while I have kept no memorandum os to 

 actual results as to pure matings I must in 

 all sincerity say that in the great majority 

 of my dealings we liave been thoroly sat- 

 isfied. More than that, I firmly believe that 

 some of the most honorable men in the 

 beekeeping business are engaged in rearing 

 queens, and our treatment in nearly all 

 cases has been all that could be desired. 

 Punctuality in answering business letters is 

 a splendid feature in any business; but 

 with the queen-breeder it is an actual ne- 

 cessity, and with few exceptions I have had 

 no cause to complain in that line. Any 

 queens that have not m.ade good have al- 

 ways been replaced at once. With these 

 few exceptions, and in some cases, knowing 

 the generosity of the breeder, I have hesi- 

 tated to report any mismatings, etc., feeling 

 that T had no real cause to complain, and 



knowing that, if I did, queens would come 

 at once to replace any that were not what 

 they should be. In one instance, in common 

 with others, Ave were much disappointed 

 with the methods of doing business and the 

 poor trashy stock of a certain breeder of 

 Carniolans, so called. Failure to answer 

 letters, etc., is bad enough itself; but when 

 stock is worthless in the bargain, that is a 

 combination none too pleasing to the man 

 who si^ends good money for queens. 



HONEY PUBLICITY. 



At the Syracuse convention held a few 

 weeks ago, much of the time was taken up 

 in discussing various plans of advertising 

 honey. A writing-tablet that has been us;d 

 by New York beekeepers for a number of 

 years was on exhibition, and to the writer 

 this appears to be a good thing. This writ- 

 ing-tablet, as many know, is like the ordi- 

 nary tablets used foj school and other 

 work; but in addition it has a lot of print- 

 ed literature on both sides of the front 

 cover, telling of the products of the bee. 

 One of the chief difficulties in circulating 

 this tablet, as nearly as I could judge by 

 the discussion, was the matter of getting 

 stationery dealers and others to handle it. 

 It occurred to me that perhaps some of the 

 dealers in beekeepers' supplies could handle 

 this in the regular way with other goods; 

 for with but little alteration the tablet 

 could be used in any place, and I feel sure 

 that our New York friend would not be at 

 all jealous. The changes I have in view are 

 the following extracts which Avould have to 

 be cut out in order to make the tablet 

 acceptable to all parts of the country. 



"Scotland and Ireland produce a superior 

 grade of honey in the Eastern hemisphere, 

 and New York and New England in the 

 Western." 



None of us would dispute those claims; 

 but there are other localities producing 

 " superior grades " too. What is there to 

 hinder some wholesale plan being originat- 

 ed to get a tablet like this before the pub- 

 lic? It is a plan of advertising that could 

 be carried on at cost; and as these tablets 

 are constantly before children and old 

 people as well, would not the plan be a 

 good paying proposition? This is a live 

 subject, and personally I should be pleased 

 to hear the views of others better qualified 

 to speak on a matter of this kind than I am. 



