Early in June a spell of cold wet weather set in, so I took the oppor- 

 tunity to run into Victoria and report verbally on conditions as I found 

 them. On the way back I spent one day at the Experimental Farm at 

 Agassiz where transferring was in progress, and another with Mr. J. A. 

 Catherwood, Mission City, to learn about the condition of the honey-flow 

 which was due. A start had evidently been made as both here and at 

 Agassiz I found about 20 pounds of honey in many of the supers, but the 

 bees had stopped working, indicating that the clover had ceased to secrete 

 nectar. As a matter of fact from the beekeeper's standpoint it was a very 

 tantalising month. There was abundance of clover blossoms everywhere, 

 just the proper size, not the large heavy flower, but the little one such 

 as we see by the roadside, yet not a bee could be seen at work on them. 

 Here are brief extracts from my notes at this time: 

 June 16. Honey coming in fast. Bees busy on snowberry and rasps; saw 



only two on clover. 



" 17. Cold. Temperature under 60 deg. until after 3 p.m. 

 " 18. Do. 



" 19. Temperature at 10 a.m. 56 deg. Bees busy on locusts. 

 " 20. Temperature at 10 a.m. 52 deg. 

 " 22. Cold. Rain. 

 " 23. Do. 



" 24. Afternoon warm. 



" 25. Bees rushing on clover. (Note the effect of heat on the secre- 

 tion of nectar). 

 " 26. Rain. 



" 27. Cool. Bees on clover, aster and snowberry, but not on fireweed. 

 " 28. Cold. Rain. 



" 30. Cool, saw only one bee in the course of a long walk. 

 It was not until after the middle of July, near the end of the clover sea- 

 son, that the nights became warm enough to permit the secretion of nectar. 

 I finished with Chilliwack on June 21 and proceeded to Hatzic the fol- 

 lowing day. The weather was cold and wet, so I spent the day with Mr. 

 W. L. Coupar who owns an apiary of 50 colonies which he had brought in 

 from Saskatchewan late in the fall. The journey from a region of severe 

 cold to one of mild climate had been rather hard on the bees, and they had 

 not yet fully recovered, so that they were not as strong as the local hives. 

 The owner, like all newcomers, was discovering that he had to learn local 

 conditions and that some of the methods which were excellent on the 

 prairie were entirely unsuited for the Pacific Coast. Our long mild spring 

 is a great stumbling block to a beekeeper who has been accustomed to the 

 sudden jump from zero to warm weather that is characteristic of the central 

 part of this continent. 



In Hatzic I found 11 beekeepers owning a total of 119 hives. This is 

 the only locality in my summer's work where I found it was possible to 

 secure the honey crop in the form of section honey. The usual thing here 

 is for the beekeeper to put on a section super some time in May, and leave 

 it alone until the summer is past. Again and again I had the satisfaction 

 of taking off a super full of section honey, in fine condition and well 

 ripened. The only regret was that a second super at least had not been 

 given as I am sure it also would have been filled. The raising of section 

 honey is far more difficult than getting the crop in the form of extracted 



