HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 257 



run together, the bees will gather the honey while the chickens 

 will catch the millers. Also turn in some sheep to keep the grass 

 down. Give your bees forest shade if possible; they will not swarm 

 so much, and make more honey. Last season being my first season, 

 my attention was drawn to some of my new swarms by their rest- 

 lessness in the evening. When other bees were quiet, these would 

 be out running to and fro over the hive. The reason of this came 

 to me forcibly after a few weeks, when I found these hives had no 

 queens, and the swarms were about run out. As it required some 

 knowledge and practise to introduce strange queens into a colony 

 of bees with safety, beginners will have better success in saving 

 queenless colonies by taking a frame of eggs or brood from an old 

 hive and giving it to the queenless colony, and let them rear their 

 own queen. 



In beginning to keep bees, I would say, that in all pursuits there 

 must be a starting point, and if we never make a start we will never 

 know whether we are adapted to the business or not. I have 

 learned a great deal about my bees and their wants, and have a 

 great deal more yet to learn, but because I do not know it all at 

 once, is no reason why I should give up the pursuit. In conclu- 

 sion I would humbly ask the assistance of the more proficient bee 

 keepers of the state, that I may be successful in this most wonder- 

 ful industry, And may this meeting of the Minnesota Bee Keep- 

 ers which, is about to convene, be a success in every way, and 

 thereby prove itself to be of great benefit to the bee keepers of the 

 state. 



DISCUSSION. 



A Member. I believe that the gentleman said you should give 

 your bees shade ; if possible, I would like a little information in 

 regard to that. I believe there is such a thing as giving bees too 

 much shade. From what I have observed (I am a beginner), I 

 notice some men keep their bees so much in the shade that the 

 hives look bad and seem to decay very quickly, and my impression 

 is, that that is not the proper place to keep bees. I believe that 

 they should be where they can get the morning sun. 



President Wilcox. Make them comfortable. 



A Member. What do you say about the shade? 



President Wilcox. A certain amount of shade in this climate 

 is very desirable. The position you report is my favorite position. 

 I keep them under some large trees at my place where they are 

 partially shaded. The idea is to put them in as comfortable a 

 position as possible. 



Mr. Pond. Mr. President, I don't consider that shade is abso- 

 lutely necessary. My brother has his bees on a piece of land that 

 has no trees on it and it is a southern slope. He has had 73 colo- 

 nies of bees and he averaged about 175 pounds of honey to the 

 colony, and there was hardly a hive of bees in the shade, and all 



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