220 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



April, 1920 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Ontario.- ^'i*^^ ^"«^ stm covering 



the ground at this writ- 

 ing (Mar. 10), prospects look good for the 

 clovers coming thru in good condition. The 

 weather has been steadily cold ever since 

 Dec. 1, and, no doubt, bees will suffer in 

 many cases, especially where they are win- 

 tering on natural stores or where stores are 

 deficient. In some parts of southern Ontario 

 the bees had a flight on March 5, but north 

 and east of Toronto no bees have been out 

 since late last October — over four months ' 

 steady confinement, with very cold weather 

 all the time for more than three months. 



Since last writing, sugar has again ad- 

 vanced another $2.00 per hundred and is 

 now quoted $16.71 at Toronto. Where 

 the end is going to be, is still a question. 

 Some dealers, with whom I have talked on 

 the subject, predict lower prices by May, 

 while others say it will go still higher. So, I 

 suppose, one man 's guess is as good as an- 

 other 's. I am sorry to say that honey, espe- 

 cially dark grades like buckwheat, is not 

 even holding its own; and for the first time, 

 at least in my experience, honey can be 

 bought wholesale at a lower price than 

 sugar. Just how long this condition 

 will last is a question. In view of the 

 great number of people going into beekeep- 

 ing, assuming that even the average number 

 make good, as intimated in a recent issue 

 of this journal, something will have to be 

 done in the near future to stabilize market- 

 ing and other phases of the business. How- 

 ever, the matter will, I suppose, automatical- 

 ly adjust itself to a certain degree; for, 

 aside from all manipulations of various or- 

 ganizations, I still believe that supply and 

 demand are the chief factors that affect all 

 kinds of merchandising. But that does 



not say that demand cannot be increased, 

 and to my mind that is the most feasible 

 and legitimate way of helping the business 

 along. Some kind of united effort should 

 be made to place the value of honey before 

 the consuming public; for, altho many fami- 

 lies do use honey, unfortunately a much 

 larger number do not recognize it as a food 

 but rather as a luxury or a medicine. 



A deputation of Ontario beekeepers re- 

 cently waited upon the Minister of Agricul- 

 ture for Ontario, asking an increased grant 

 for inspection work and also for money to 

 start a queen-rearing establishment under 

 the jurisdiction of the Provincial Apiarist, 

 for the purpose of raising Italian queens of 

 a highly resistant strain for use in districts 

 where European foul brood is prevalent or 

 just starting. In many districts black bees 

 are still in evidence, and pure matings are 

 out of the question. During the last few 

 seasons the demand has been so great for 

 good Italian stock that in many eases queens 

 could not be procured, and much loss oc- 

 curred as a result. It is the purpose, in case 

 the grant is received, to put the proposition 



on a self-sustaining basis, as beekeepers 

 will be quite willing to pay a fair price pro- 

 vided they can get the queens. Hon. Mr. 

 Doherty gave the deputation a courteous 

 hearing, and, while promising nothing defi- 

 nite, hopes are entertained that the request 

 will be favorably received. A serious thing 

 just at present is that finances are strained 

 to meet all obligations, and the Government 

 naturally wishes to be very careful in the 

 matter of funds, especially since the elec- 

 tion was won largely on a policy of economy 

 and conservation. 



Here 's hoping that the balmy spring- 

 time will soon be here again; and also 

 a hearty good wish towards one and all of 

 our readers that the busy season ahead may 

 be filled with not only work but good re- 

 turns for our labor and, above all, with a 

 sense of our duty to the millions of suffering 

 people in the world today, and a profound 

 feeling of gratitude towards the great 

 Creator for allowing us to live in this won- 

 derful place of peace and prosperity, Canada 

 and the United States of America. 



Markham, Ont. J. L. Byer. 



In Iowa ^^ *^^® Mitchell County an- 

 nual meeting at Osage, held 

 recently, plans for the work of the coming 

 year were outlined, which include the co- 

 operative extension work in beekeeping and 

 the establishment of a demonstration apiary. 

 A tentative date, July 10, was also set for 

 the summer meeting. 



Many requests are being received from 

 parties who desire to buy bees. People who 

 are becoming interested in bees this year 

 may be divided into three classes; those 

 who have kept bees in the past and failed 

 but have a revived hope, those who know 

 nothing about the work but feel that bee- 

 keeping may be a get-rich-quick scheme, 

 and those who are carefully preparing to 

 grow into the business. The first two classes 

 are in for disappointment, as beekeeping re- 

 quires an ample investment of brains, mon- 

 ey, and labor. The beekeeping industry of 

 this State needs more wide-awake honey 

 producers; the nectar is available, and re- 

 turns can be expected when the business is 

 conducted on a firm basis. But no encour- 

 agement is held out to those who want to 

 buy bees and consider such effort sufficient 

 to be rewarded by returns of honey. 



From the correspondence it would seem 

 that a very large amount of package bees 

 and nuclei will be purchased in the South. 

 Many have had very satisfactory results 

 with package bees, and the practice of mak- 

 ing increase and repairing minor losses by 

 such purchases is rapidly increasing. 



Special attention will be given by the 

 Iowa State College to summer meetings with 

 county beekeepers' associations, doing a 

 small portion of the work that had been 



