GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



February. 1921. 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



In Ontario Winter temperatures here 



in Ontario to date (Jan. 10) 

 have been above the average, and so far we 

 have not had a single touch of zero weather. 

 But the winter is still young, and, no 

 doubt, a month from now a different report 

 will be in order. Bees in our York County 

 apiaries have not had a flight since some- 

 time previous to the coming of cold weather, 

 as November was chilly continuously. A few 

 bees were noticed in the air last week one 

 day, but nothing like a cleansing flight was. 

 possible. On the other hand, a friend near 

 our Binbrook apiaries south of Hamilton 

 writes me that the bees there have had a 

 fair cleansing flight. Sometimes 25 or 30 

 miles farther south means just enough dif- 

 ference in temperatures to make it possible 

 for bees to fly in the southern locations 

 while it is too cool here in York County a 

 bit farther north. 



Wholesale markets for honey are still 

 draggy, with little prospects of conditions 

 being better in the future as I see it, so far 

 as this season is concerned. Eetail prices are 

 staying up quite well, compared with the 

 slump in sugar and many other commodities. 



A matter of vital interest to the beekeep- 

 ers of Ontario is scheduled to come up for 

 discussion at the next annual meeting of 

 the association. During the last five or six 

 years, at least two attempts have been made 

 on the part of a few members to get the 

 association to commit itself to the policy of 

 asking the government to impose a tax of so 

 much per colony on every beekeeper in the 

 Province, the proceeds to be used to pay for 

 inspection work. Different amounts have 

 been mentioned; but, if I remember correct- 

 ly, the levy advised by the parties behind 

 the movement this year was a minimum of 

 $5.00 for beekeepers with ten colonies or 

 under, and above that number five cents per 

 colony. The matter was brought up at the 

 last hour of the convention after fully two- 

 thirds of the members had left to catch early 

 trains for home. Members opposed to the 

 motion, as well as others not committed one 

 way or the other, argued that the matter 

 was too important to be dealt with under 

 those conditions, and it was voted to carry 

 the resolution over till next year. 



Personally, I believe in rendering unto 

 Caesar the things that are Caesar 's, but 

 it is a question to me if it is a good policy 

 to run after ' ' Caesar ' ' to suggest to him 

 what his dues are. I am opposed to the plan 

 for different reasons. The question of the 

 tax itself is only a secondary one. Probably, 

 if in force, it would hit us as hard as anyone 

 in the Province; but a matter of $60.00 or 

 $70.00 extra would be only incidental among 

 the general expenses and would be met, of 

 course, if called for. But as a matter of prin- 

 ciple, I think such legislation would be en- 

 tirely wrong. We have heard a lot during 



the past few years on the dignity of bee- 

 keeping as a business, what the calling 

 means to other industries when we consider 

 the far-reaching effects of cross-pollination 

 accomjjlished by the bees, etc. I believe it 

 was E. F. Holtermann who stated at our 

 last convention that for every dollar the 

 beekeeper received for honey, the farmers 

 received another dollar in extra profits from 

 the bees ' work in better pollination of cer- 

 tain crops, such as clover, fruits, etc. By 

 asking the Government to take a course that 

 no other industry would think of asking, 

 we would lower the dignity of our profes- 

 sion and virtually admit that the bees are 

 no asset to the country and that we wish to 

 have the country bear with us for the priv- 

 ilege of keeping bees. 



Do we find the cattle men asking for a 

 tax to be placed upon every bovine speci- 

 men in Ontario to raise a fund for inspec- 

 tion, so as to have tuberculosis, foot-and- 

 mouth disease, blackleg, etc., banished from 

 their herds? Do horsemen ask for a tax on 

 horses for fighting glanders? Or swine- 

 breeders for a tax on their pigs to fight hog 

 cholera? No, in each case the Government 

 believes that these kindred industries are 

 an asset to the country at large, and im- 

 mense sums are spent each year to fight 

 these diseases, and thousands of dollars are 

 paid out to the owners for diseased stock 

 destroyed — something that is not done in 

 regard to bees destroyed, altho some think 

 it would be fair for the beekeeper to be 

 treated the same as others in that regard. 

 I have before me a clipping from the To- 

 ronto Globe of recent date, which states 

 that a herd of cattle (only a few miles from 

 our home) was recently destroyed, as they 

 all reacted to the test for tuberculosis. Six- 

 teen Holsteins valued at $3900.00 were de- 

 stroyed, and the Government paid the own- 

 ers two-thirds of the value of the herd. The 

 item further states that Inspector Carey, 

 who was in charge of the work, had paid out 

 $90,000 to farmers for stock destroyed dur- 

 ing the last eight months, and that there 

 are nine other inspectors employed at the 

 same work in the Province. In the face of 

 such figures as that, how anyone can advo- 

 cate going to the Government and asking 

 them to place a tax on us so as to raise a 

 few thousand dollars to have our bees in- 

 spected, is a mystery indeed. 



British Columbia has a law making it com- 

 pulsory for all beekeepers in the Province 

 to be registered, a nominal fee being 

 charged each applicant. This is useful for 

 keeping track of all beekeepers 5or inspec- 

 tion purposes, thus serving a good purpose; 

 and at the same time a number of men are 

 eliminated who do not take enough interest 

 in the business to go to the trouble of reg- 

 istering. J. L. Byer. 



Markham, Ont. 



