18 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



is in tliis section the best and almost 

 tlie only bee pasturage, did notseemto 

 be well supplied with nectar, and the 

 season of its bloom was exceptionally 

 short; consequently the colonies gath- 

 ered a very small supply of surplus 

 honey, and few swarms issued. Gen- 

 erally, the colonies are in good condi- 

 tion for entering upon the coming win- 

 ter, and seem to be healthy. 



Mr. Arthur Todd, Vice President for 

 Pennsylvania, made the following re- 

 port for the year 1885. 



The winter of 1884-5 proved disas- 

 trous to many beekeepers in the state 

 of Pennsylvania, and as regards a 

 honey harvest — practically there was 

 none. The lall crop of honey luis like- 

 wise been a complete failure, and bees 

 go into winter quarters in bad condi- 

 tion, unless fed on sugar syrup. I 

 have taken pains during my business 

 journeys and in my correspondence, to 

 "learu the actual results of beekeeping 

 this year in this state for many a mile 

 distant from Philadelphia, and I think 

 that the word "disastrous" will best ex- 

 press the general feeling. 



I regret that I am unable to meet the 

 brethren iu convention assembled; it 

 Is a great disappointment to me. 



Mr. H. F. Hunt, Vice-President for 

 Quebec, Canada, reported as follows : 



The knowledge of bee-culture, by 

 the improved methods of manipulation, 

 is still in its extreme infancy iu Quebec, 

 and has only within the past few years 

 begun to be disseminated among the 

 people, the southern and southwestern 

 parts having more beekeepers than the 

 other parts. There are numerous box- 

 hive beekeepers throughout the coun- 

 try, who still take their honey by the 

 old-fashioned method of " brimston- 

 ing" — a method which I hope is now on 

 its "hist legs." My report, therefore, 

 will not bear comparison with that of 

 our sister Province — Ontario — but I 

 hope that in the not far distant future, 

 we shall be able to make as good a 

 showing. The success attending the 

 labors of beekeepers in Ontario, will 

 act as a stimulus to those in Quebec. 



In common with the rest of the North 

 American continent, the losses last 

 winter were heavy, but beekeepers, as 

 a rule, have not fjeen much discour- 

 aged, and are hoping for better success 

 this winter. Our losses were not so 

 heavy as those farther south, which I 

 attribute to our being compelled to pro- 

 tect the bees well, on account of the 

 severe cold which once or twice every 

 winter touches cO° below zero, the 

 average being 5° to 10° above. 



I have not received as many responses 

 as I could wish, to my request for 

 reports, but I generalize from what I 

 did receive. The past season has l)eeu 

 a very poor one indeed, owing to the 

 extraordinary cold season, which seri- 

 ously curtailed brood-rearing and the 

 secretion of nectar, in some parts of 

 the Province, notably in the vicinity of 

 Lake Megantic, and in the county 

 of Beance. The spring was so dry that 

 certain crops had to be replanted, and 

 would, no doubt, have acted unfavor- 

 ably to the secretion of nectar in the 

 white clover. Some honey was gath- 

 ered from bassvvood, which yields 

 more freely to the south than to the 

 north of the St. Lawrence. Fall flow- 

 ers also have not given much, and many 

 colonies have had to be fed for winter. 



Mr. S. T. Pettit, Vice-President 

 for Ontario, Canada, made the follow- 

 ing report: 



Beekeeping in Ontario, for the last 

 year, has not been of the most flatter- 

 ing kind. During the last winter and 

 spring about 75 per cent, of our bees 

 perished. This great loss was brought 

 about by three principal factors, viz. : 

 poor stores, long-continued cold in 

 both winter and sijring, and inexperi- 

 ence. 



Generally speaking, those of long 

 experience in apiculture, who have 

 given much time, study, painstaking 

 and exacting care — in a word, those 

 who make beekeeping a specialty, and 

 who are adapted to the business, sus- 

 tained comparatively little loss; hence 

 it is plain that this great loss fell prin- 

 cipally upon those who, as a-rule, neg- 

 lected some other business to enjoy 

 an immense amount of pleasure and 

 grow suddenly rich by " keeping bees." 

 The large amount of dead, filthy honey 

 thrown upon tlie market the past spring 

 has done no little harm to the pursuit. 

 Interested parties are constantly pro- 

 mulgating the idea that everybody 

 should keep bees, which results in no 

 inconsiderable loss to the country. 



Beside the indirect loss by diverting 

 the minds of many from their legiti- 

 mate calling, I believe a fair calculation 

 would show the startling fact that ev- 

 ery pound of honey produced in Onta- 

 rio for the last six years has cost the 

 producers, on an average, not less tliau 

 twenty-live cents per pound. 



The teaching that everyi)ody should 

 do everything for himself is a retro- 

 grade movement, undermining the best 

 manufacturing, producing, carrying 

 and commercial interests, and tends to 

 semi-barbarism ; no matter how per- 



