T'H® mwimmi^mn mmm jO'^mmmi^. 



73 



2. That the pasturage should not be 

 overstoeked, but rather that it should 

 not have enough bees on it to gather 

 all the honej-tlow. 



3. That there be in charge of the 

 bees, an apiarist adapted by nature, 

 assisted by study and practice, to man- 

 age the same (but the nature part I 

 consider the most important). 



4. It is essential that a hive with 

 movable combs, having a large top sur- 

 face, be used. 



5. That the bee-keeper be a special- 

 ist, or as the phrase is, "have all the 

 eggs in one basket ;" in that case they 

 can be jealouslj' watched and guarded, 

 and used to the best advantage ; not 

 so if the eggs are mixed in man}- bas- 

 kets with other things. 



If the colonies have passed the win- 

 ter and spring well, and are strong in 

 bees and brood at the commencement 

 of the surplus honey-flow, a good crop 

 of comb honey can be secured by put> 

 ting on the hive a shallow super of 

 sections primed with comb or founda- 

 tion. (I say sections, because if not in 

 nice sections it cannot be sold to ad- 

 vantage.) Open the entrance of the 

 hive to its full size, and when work is 

 well commenced in the super, raise it 

 up and put an empty super between 

 it and the hive ; continue thus until 

 your judgment or experience tells you 

 that thej- have enough space to contain 

 the surplus honey that will be secured. 



Other things being right, you will 

 rejoice in a good crop of comb lioney. 

 J. B. Hall. 



A discussion followed as to the use 

 of " dummies," and the method was 

 condemned, unless the colony was of 

 no more value, and could be destroyed 

 after the honej' season. 



There was quite a diversitj^ of opin- 

 ion as to the use of full combs, full 

 sheets of comb foundation, or starters 

 in the brood-chamber, when working 

 for comb honey. The weight of evi- 

 dence appeared to be rather in favor 

 of full sheets of foundation, unless one 

 did not care if drone-comb was built. 

 The old comb some found to soil the 

 sections. The nicest sections could be 

 secured by using starters only. 



Time of putting on supers : If full 

 combs are used, supers could be put on 

 at once ; if full sheets of foundation, 

 almost at once ; if starters, after the 

 queen had commenced to lay. 



Mr. S. T. Pettit then delivered 



Tbe President's Annual Address. 



In reviewing the events that have 

 transpired, and the work that has been 

 accomplished during my term of office, 

 I would notice the following : 



1. That we have secured incorpora- 

 tion for the Ontario Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation. 



2. That we have secured a Provin- 

 cial Government grant of $500 per 

 year. 



3. We succeeded in making an ex- 

 hibit of honey on a grand scale at the 

 Colonial and Indian exhibition at South 

 Kensington, London, England. 



4. We have gotten the management 

 and the price-lists of the ai>ianan de- 

 partment of the leading exhibitions of 

 the Province, more or less under the 

 control of one association, and al- 

 though we cannot redress grievances 

 of the past, it will be the aim and ob- 

 ject of the association to prevent the 

 recurrence of grievances in the future. 



5. The foundation of an Association 

 Library has been laid, the first book, 

 of which was a present from our good 

 friend, T. W. Cowan, F. G. S., F. R. 

 M. S., etc. 



6. We would not fail to notice the 

 gratifying fact that our apiarian litera- 

 ture has been augmented by the publi- 

 cation of the Canadian Honey Producer, 

 hy our enterprising friends, E. L. 

 Goold &Co., of Brantford. 



7. And last but not least, the mem- 

 bership of our association has been 

 largely increased. 



And now, in order to make our as- 

 sociation all the more useful, I would 

 say, that whatever way the "grant"' 

 may be used, strict justice must be 

 done to all parts of the province, and 

 that the weak must be supported as 

 well as the strong. 



The appointing of judges and the 

 necessity of placing the price-lists upon 

 a somewhat diflferent basis should be 

 dealt with. 



I will repeat my suggestion of last 

 year, that reduced railway rates should 

 be secured for honey. To avoid un- 

 fair rates in England, honej' is some- 

 times shipped under the name of s3-rup. 



Owing to ill-health and sickness of a 

 severe nature in my familj- during the 

 last session of the Parliament, I was 

 unable to apph' to the Legislature for 

 legislation to prevent the spread of, 

 and to stamp out foul brood in the 

 country. Would it not be well for the 

 prevention of the further spread of 

 foul brood, to appoint competent 

 judges — to examine and report upon 

 the health of the bees of all those who 

 advertise bees for sale ? All who own 

 bees for sale should be very careful 

 not to sell diseased bees, nor should 

 bees be sold and shipped out of a dis- 

 eased locality. 



Another dangerous source of spead- 

 ing foul brood consists in selling honey 

 from foul-broody apiaries. Empty 

 containers are thrown out, and neigh- 

 boring bees lick up the disease and 

 carrj' it home. Imported bees should 

 be examined at the port of entiy. 



The question arises : Why should 

 the sale of diseased bees, or anj' other 



article calculated to sprea<l tlie di.«- 

 ease, be tolerated any more tlian the 

 sale of cholera pigs, or cattle afflicted 

 with pleuro-pneumonia ? Great care 

 should be observed by those who visit 

 apiaries afflicted with foid brood, to 

 most thoroughly disinfect themselves 

 and all their tools before going into 

 the vicinity of other bees. I am sure 

 that the principle is gaining ground, 

 that the wealthy should not sit down 

 by the side of, and starve out and de- 

 stroy, a poor brother who has placed 

 all his means, and perhaps more too, 

 in bees and the necessary buildings and 

 other appliances for keeping bees. 



The principle, as claimed by some, 

 is not a " new force," but is the same 

 commendable, kind and brotherly 

 spirit that moved Abram, when he said 

 unto Lot, "Let there be no strife, I 

 pray thee, between thee and me, and 

 between m}- herdmen and thy herd- 

 men ; for we be brethren." 



To advocate the principle of the 

 " survival of the fittest " in bee-keep- 

 ing, especially since there are lots of 

 inviting unoccupied fields, is simply to 

 encourage the strong to worry and de- 

 vour his weaker brother. There is no 

 "Do as you would wish to be done by" 

 in it at all. 



Whereas an outlet for our surplus 

 honey, is a question of vast moment to- 

 every bee-keeper in Canada, I deem it 

 my duty at this time to say a word 

 upon that important subject. 



It will be remembered that a year 

 ago I spoke encouragingly of largely 

 increasing the production of honey in 

 Canada, but when all the facts now 

 bearing upon the case are put together, 

 and weighed and balanced up, they 

 force upon my mind the opinion (and 

 I want that opinion to go upon record) 

 that the British markets are virtually 

 lost to us at paying prices, or even at 

 prices at which a man can make a de- 

 cent living. I know this is a dai'k 

 picture to present to your minds, and 

 I am exceedingly- pained to be obliged 

 to hang up in this cheerful room one 

 so very opposite from what I could 

 w-ish to present to the view of this in- 

 telligent meeting ; but there is no alter- 

 native ; duty to you all, and to mj'self 

 as well, imperatively demands that I 

 deal faithfully in this matter. 



The collecting of statistics relative 

 to our pursuit should be considered. 



And now, in conclusion, I would 

 suggest that the conditions are ripe for 

 devising a scheme whereby all county 

 bee-keepers' associations in Ontario 

 may be affiliated with the parent body. 

 S. T. Pettit. 



C. McNally gave his method of win- 

 tering, and described h^s cellar. It is 

 made of stone, 20x37, and 9 feet higli. 

 There are foiu- sub-earth ventilators. 



