1918 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



19 



sively throughout the Province for 

 seven years, it must be admitted that 

 they are meeting the desires and re- 

 quirements of Ontario beekeepers. 



These meetings are conducted in 

 almost every case by the inspector 

 for the district. Some of them were 

 interfered with by unfavorable 

 weather, but the people have learned 

 that bee demonstrations will be con- 

 ducted punctually as advertised, re- 

 gardless of weather conditions, and 

 that they will not be postponed un- 

 der any circumstances. The inspec- 

 tors were instructed this year to 

 make the demonstrations as practical 

 as possible and to reduce public 

 speaking to a minimum. They also 

 agreed that wherever possible the 

 actual manipulations of hives and 

 combs in the apiary under natural 

 conditions would be most acceptable 

 and profitable to those in attendance. 

 Wherever it seemed advisable the 

 demonstrator was supplied with a 

 trunk containing a great number of 

 beekeeping appliances of the most 

 modern design. One of the bee sup- 

 ply firms has also supplied District 

 Representatives with exhibits of this 

 nature, and in some cases these were 

 used. 



Evolution of Wintering in 

 British Columbia 



By W. J. Sheppard 



"EAR 191T — Hive-cases that take ordinary 

 single-wall hive-bodies, permanently packed 

 as far as the brood-chamber and covered in. 

 have been found an improvement on the 

 double-wall hives for this section of British 

 Columbia. 



"KOOTENAI" HIVE CASE 

 ently packed. There are 3 inches of 

 packing below the floor and on all four 

 sides. The flat cover is 3-S inch larger all 

 around than the top of the case, and small 

 triangular blocks nailed in each corner in- 

 side raise it and ensure permanent ventila- 

 tion. The stories or "lifts" are all alike, 

 and as supers are put on are added as 

 necessary. In this hive-case the bees are 

 warmer in winter and cooler in summer. 

 When packing for winter all that is neces- 

 sary is to add the top covering over the 

 frames. 



YEAR 1916 — Double-wall hives on the "Buck- 

 eye" principle being tried. 



Notes From Switzerland 



By C. W. Aeppler. 



IN the September number of 

 "Schweizerische Bienen Zeitung" 

 (Swiss Bee Journal) I find the 

 following of interest : 



"Night and day from the nearby 

 boundary one can still hear the thun- 

 dering of thousands upon thousands 

 of death-dealing cannon. Our impor- 

 tations (sugar) are endangered more 

 than ever; but we live in happy con- 

 fidence that the interests of Swiss 

 beekeeping will nevertheless be pre- 

 served for the future. Should this 

 fatal war be the cause of rationing all 

 foodstuffs, as has already been done 

 in the case of sugar, we will surely 

 set aside a ration for the little bees, 

 even though it must be a modest one. 

 "Therefore, let us, even though it 

 is with a weary heart, look into the 



dark future with hope. The war has 

 convinced every Swiss beekeeper 

 that behind him stands a watchman 

 who looks after him. Who is this 

 watchman who endeavors to safe- 

 guard our interests? It is the Swiss 

 Beekeepers' Association — the Central 

 Association, which, with its 117 af- 

 filiated associations has established 

 itself like a mighty tree which 

 neither storm nor weather can harm, 

 and beneath whose shade over 10,000 

 beekeepers feel themselves safe- 

 guarded." 



We can learn a great lesson from 

 the above. The Swiss beekeepers 

 are organized — -in comparison we are 

 not. During the past year the Swiss 

 Beekeepers' Association imported 70 

 carloads of sugar for winter stores 

 for the thousands of colonies of bees 

 in Switzerland, while only 52^2 car- 

 loads could be delivered by private 

 firms for the same purpose. There are 

 in the neighborhood of 200,000 colo- 

 nies of bees in Switzerland today. 

 Although we are not surrounded by 

 enemies, as is Switzerland, their suc- 

 cess through organization should 

 serve as a lesson to the beekeepers 

 of the United States. The Swiss 

 Government has allowed 8 Kg. (17.6 

 pounds) of sugar per colony. The 

 Swiss Beekeepers' Association has 

 recommended to all its members to 

 unite all weak colonies and winter 

 only the very best, so that each of 

 these strong colonies can be given 

 more than 17.6 pounds of sugar in the 

 form of sugar syrup, and thus insure 

 the beekeeping industry for 1918. 



The average production of honey 

 ner colony in Switzerland in 1917 is 5 

 Kg. (11 pounds) and little or no 

 swarming is reported. 



The average price of honey in 

 Switzerland today is 4.50 francs per 

 Kg. (2.2 pounds.) Not knowing 

 whether or not the value of Swiss 

 money has been lowered during the 

 war, I wrote to a large bank for the 

 necessary information. They advise 

 that 100 francs is worth $21.50, or one 

 franc is worth 21j4c, so that today 

 honey is selling for 99c per Kg, or 45c 

 per pound. This is an increase of 

 about 25 per cent over 1916, caused 

 by a corresponding increase in the 

 price of sugar and all beekeeping sup- 

 plies. 



More or less speculation in honey 

 seems to have gone on of late, so that 

 today the Swiss Beekeepers' Associa- 

 tion is attempting to prevent any fur- 

 ther increase in the price of honey. 

 If such a procedure should ever be- 

 come necessary in the United States, 

 would other foodstuffs be necessarily 

 higher in price? Not so; but such a 

 condition might be brought about if 

 the people at large once learn to 

 know the real food value of honey. 



Forreston, Minn. 



Winter Cases for Single Hives 



THERE are many modifications 

 of the winter case for winter- 

 ing outside. . Aside from the 

 extra cost of making a separate case 

 for each hive, none are more prac- 

 tical than the case used by W. R. 

 Hemple, of Bagley, Wis. The picture 



