June, 1921 G L K A N I N G S IN BEE CULTURE r?59 



FROM NORTH, EAST, WEST AND SOUTH 



Texas. Dille^- lies just 70 miles south and 

 slightly west of San Antonio, and appar- 

 ently has the same climatic conditions. 

 However, at Dilley, there has been an un- 

 usual spring honey flow from huajilla and 

 inesquite and other annual spring flowers. 

 A great deal of honey has already been ex- 

 tracted, but here at San Antonio the cold 

 winds and rain have put an end to the 

 spring honey flow, and the bees are just 

 making a living. The more one studies local 

 conditions, the more vital the question of 

 locality becomes. It is safe to predict that 

 after a few years a beekeeper will be just 

 as careful in selecting bee localities as 

 peach-growers are in selecting locations for 

 their orchards today. 



The weather for the past mouth has been 

 extremely discouraging to the beekeepers. 

 The summer weather of January, February, 

 and part of March caused the bees to build 

 up very rapidly, and the honey plants were 

 in excellent condition and promised a heavy 

 honey flow. April has been very cold, and 

 heavy rains have occurred. This put an 

 end to brood-rearing in many sections, and 

 in almost all parts of the State a large 

 amount of chilled brood has been reported. 

 The hope of an early honey flow is gone 

 and in only a few localities are the bees in 

 the best of shape. It has been said that 

 the worst thing for a dry country is a rain, 

 and this has proved true in southwest Texas. 

 The rain put an end to the mesquite honey 

 flow, and the huajilla has produced ]irobably 

 one-fourth of the normal crop. These con- 

 ditions, which have entirely or partly done 

 away with certain honey flows, will produce 

 others which were despaired of. The horse- 

 mint is coming into bloom and promises to 

 give a very good crop. The cold weather 

 has been very adverse to queen-rearing and 

 also to the combless package bees. Had it 

 not been for the cold ■weather in the fall 

 which caused buyers to ask a delay in the 

 delivery of their orders, it would have been 

 impossible for sellers of live bees to deliver 

 their orders. 



The active work of the Extension Divi- 

 sion of A. and M. College in beekeeping is 

 being shown in the interest taken in tliat 

 subject in counties where beekeeping has 

 been little knowu. D. T. Griswold, county 

 demonstration agent for Denton County, has 

 arranged a county demonstration exhibit to 

 be held in May. One day will be beekeeji- 

 ers' day, and demonstrations iu transferring 

 and in the handling of bees will be given 

 by E. K. Eeppert, Extension Entomologist, 

 who will have charge of this work. 



San Antonio, Tex. H. B. Parks. 



« « » 



Jfj Ontario T^^^e season is unusually 



early liere in Ontario, so 

 far as spring bloom is concerned. Willows, 

 fruit bloom, etc., are ahead of a year ago 



by three weeks. Clover is not correspond- 

 ingly so far ahead, and this means a long 

 period of dearth between fruit bloom and 

 clover. This is a time that gives the apiar- 

 ist a lot of work unless stores are in the 

 hives in abundance. Colonies wintered out- 

 doors, at least so far as our own apiaries 

 are concerned, are almost universally heavy 

 with stores. 



Our 400 colonies wintered inside are just 

 the opposite, altho the bees wintered in- 

 doors were fully as heavy last fall as those 

 left outside. An exception to this rule is 

 found in the 60 wintered here at home in 

 the underground cellar where it was cooler 

 and of more even temperature thru the win- 

 ter than in the other two repositories — one 

 above ground and the other in an ordinary 

 cellar. Evidently in the two latter places 

 the bees got too warm and did a lot of win- 

 ter brood-rearing, sealed brood being in evi- 

 dence in the hives when placed on summer 

 stands. 



Any change in the honey markets since 

 last writing shows a tendency towards low- 

 er prices on the part of the wholesalers in 

 an attempt to unload all stocks before the 

 new crop comes on. Prospects, as stated in 

 last issue, are none too good in many parts 

 of the Province, so far as clover is con- 

 cerned, but much better in western Ontario 

 than in eastern parts. 



As there have been different reports cir- 

 culating about the net-weight law as re- 

 cently amended at Ottawa, so far as it con- 

 cerns honey containers, the following copy 

 of letter from the Department of Health, 

 Ottawa, should clear up matters. As is well 

 known on this side of the "line" five and 

 ten pound honey pails, as well as smaller 

 sizes, are almost always sold by gross 

 weight. The letter in question has been 

 forwarded to me by one of the well-known 

 pail manufacturers, with a request that I let 

 as many know as I can, as the impression 

 had gone out that all honey would have to 

 be in net-weight i)ails this year. The let- 

 ter follows: 



"Gentlemen: Replying to your letter of 

 the 11th instant, in connection with honey 

 pails, I may say that, as the pails you 

 showed me in this ofiice designed to con- 

 tain honey are not considered by us as 

 sealed containers, the law in regard to state- 

 ment of net weight on them does not apply. 

 " Yours truly, 

 "J. A. Amyot, Deputy Minister." 



In view of the fact that many had already 

 bought large quantities of gross-weight 

 pails for the coming season, the above in- 

 formation will be very welcome indeed. 

 The pails submitted to the oflSce were of 

 the "penny lever" type. 



As some have wondered how the under- 

 ground cellar showed up this past winter, 

 the season is far enough on now to allow 



