May, 1917 



GTiBANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



373 



spring (Iwiiidliiic;. He says that after having visit- 

 ed botli till' eastern and western parts of North 

 Carolina he finds lees in very poor condition as i\ 

 rule, alt ho there are some good colonies that had 

 extra care and exceptional strength of young hees 

 last fall, but in general he says it has been a very 

 rough winter on bees in the South. 



A. B. Marchant, of Marchant Bros., Union 

 Springs, Ala., writes that the weather conditions 

 and bee conditions have been so extremely bad in 

 the South during February and March and the 

 present month that most bee and queen breeders will 

 be unable to fill early orders, and that the pound- 

 package business has been very hard hit. He says 

 that bees in the South were apparently in good con- 

 dition February 1, but since then the weather and 

 honey-producing-plant conditions have Ijeen almost 

 as bad as possible for them to be. He puts in a 

 strong plea for patience and consideration from the 

 patrons of the southern bee and queen breeders. 



W. D. Aehord, of Fitzpatrick, Ala., under date 

 of April 18, writes the colonies are not so strong as 

 UiSiial at this time of the year, and that he has been 

 refusing orders for packages for several days, but 

 is trying hard to ship promptly. He says that some 

 shipments may have to be delayed for several days; 

 and as this appears to be his worst fear, the situ- 

 ation in Alabama does not seem to be alarming. 



The Rocky Mountain Bee Co., located at Billings, 

 Mont., reports the loss of bees in the eastern part 

 of the State as being about 50 per cent. 



Thru the efforts of the A. I. Root Co.'s 

 tratfic manager, Avith the co-operatioil of 

 others interested in the shipping of comb 

 honey in the territory in which the southern 

 olassifioation governs, the committee at their 

 last meeting, lield in March at New Orleans, 

 acted favorably on our application. As 

 soon as the new rule goes into effect, which 

 will doubtless be in June, altho we are not 

 yet informed of the exact date, comb honey 

 may be shipped in southern-classification 

 territory at a considerably lower rate than 

 in effect heretofore, but with no special rate 

 for carload lots. These rates will be the 

 same as those in effect in Avestem territory. 

 To take full advantage of the loAver rates 

 it is necessary to pack the cases of comb 

 honey in carriers Avith at least four inches 

 of cushioning material underneath. Carri- 

 ers should not Aveigh over 258 lbs. each, 

 gross, and should haA'e handles. 



In our January issue, pages 30 and 31, 

 Ave reviewed the case betAveen the bee- 

 keepers and the Coniagas Reduction Co., 

 smelters, that was tried before tlie Supreme 

 Court of Ontario, Canada. After hearing 

 all the evidence on both sides, his Lordship, 

 Judge C. J. Falconbridge, rendered a de- 

 cision in favor of the smelter oAvners. His 

 judgment as rendered is as folloAvs : 



Plaintiffs have to prove to the satisfaction of a 

 judge or jury that the loss which they have suffered 

 was caused by the wrongful acts of defendants, viz., 

 by the emission from their works of noxious vapors 

 or suljstances which killed the bees. It is not suf- 

 ficient for me to find that the destruction of the bees 

 might have been — and, indeed, probably was — caused 

 by the works of defendants. The ([uestinn is, Has 

 that been proved 1 There seem to be too many ele- 

 ments of doubt for me to resolve them all in plain- 



tiffs' favor. The plaintiffs have failed to prove their 

 case to niv reasona! le satisfaction, and their action 

 must be dismissed with costs. Fifteen days' stay. 



It is apparent that the judge believed that 

 the bees were killed by the noxious gases 

 from the smelters, but because the fact was 

 not proved to his " reasonable satisfaction " 

 he clismissed the action Avith costs. There 

 Avere nine other actions against the Coniagas 

 Reduction Co., that were also dismissed at 

 the same time. While we do not presume 

 to question the rightfulness of the judge's 

 decision, it may mean the wiping-out of the 

 beekeeping industry in and about a con- 

 siderable area around the smelters not a 

 great way removed from St. Catherines. 

 The territory in question comjirises some of 

 the best fruit and garden area on the con- 

 tinent. It remains to be seen now whether 

 the elimination of bees will not ruin the 

 fruit interests as well. 



* * * 



Tlie nineteenth semi-aniuial session of the 

 Panhandle Beekeepers' Association Avas held 

 April 11 at Wheeling. Officers elected were 

 as follows: Pies., Will C. Griffith, of Elm 

 Grove; Vice-president, A. W. MaeMastere, 

 of Jaeobsburg; Secretai'y, John Rude, of 

 Bellaire. Members of this association are 

 very optimistie as to the outlook for the 

 coming season. Bees wintered well there, 

 due to the excellent crop of cloA^er of last 

 summer. Preliminary plans Avere made to 

 hold the annual outing of the members and 

 their families the coming summel'. Mr. 

 Griffith, president of the association, is a 

 very ardent beeman, and is doing much 

 good to the bee and honey cause in the 

 Panhandle country. If there were more 

 such driving and enthusiastic beemen in 

 every beekeeping community, the bee and 

 honey business would soon be on the high 

 and important plane that it rightfully may 

 claim. 



* <:- * 



"The United Honey-Producers' Associa- 

 tion, by its president and secretary, Messrs. 

 Geo. J. Brown and Geo. W. Williams, have 

 submitted to its Board of Control a i)roposi- 

 tion that the beekeepers of the United 

 States give their best efforts to procuring 

 10,000,000 lbs. of honey, or any part there- 

 of, for the use of the military forces of the 

 Government. In submitting this proposi- 

 tion to the U. H. P.'s Board of Control, the 

 officers of the association say: 



In view of the fact that the world-wide war is 

 demanding maximum production of food at the least 

 possible cost and the utmost conservation of energy- 

 producing elements, the beekeepers of the United 

 States desire to add their quota to the general supply 

 of available foods. The recent favorable experience 

 of the European armies in the trenches shows the 

 high value of honey, at a minimum of cost. Our 

 army and navy are made up of the flower of our 

 youth, and they must have the best. 



