48 



SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Mr. Coppin — The bees didn't appear 

 to fly, and then, when it comes to drift- 

 ing, you can't tell exactly about that; 

 sometimes we would bring out a hive 

 and we might find there were bees in 

 it but not know how many. 



We set them down in their place; 

 they get excited and go to flying. If 

 you put out 150 at one time there is 

 quite an excitement all at once. 

 Finally by evening you would And 

 some hives empty of bees altogether. 

 There were bees in them when brought 

 out, but probably very weak, and they 

 had joined others. 



Mr. Kildow — There is where doctors 

 disagree; maybe that is locality, 

 though. Up to a very few years ago 

 I wintered in the cellar. It made no 

 difference to me where I set the colony 

 of bees when I brought them out in 

 the spring. I never had any drifting 

 except the one time of which I spoke. 



In the fall of the year, when the 

 bees quit flying, if I want to move a 

 colony, I do it, and I expect them to 

 stay where I put them. 



President Baxter — I have done that, 

 but they go back to where they used 

 to be. 



Mr. Kildow — I would trade those 

 bees off. 



Mr. Root — My experience has been 

 along the line of Mr. Kildow's. Mr. 

 Dadant has had some experience along 

 that line. 



Do you trundle your bees on a wheel- 

 barrow when you move them out? 



Mr. Dadant — No 



Mr. Root — We trundle all we can. 

 *The idea is like drumming on the 

 hive; we blow a little smoke in the 

 entrance and put it on a wheelbarrow 

 or cart, and the more we can jar them 

 so that they are somewhat demoral- 

 ized, when they come out they begin 

 to mark things if we have changed 

 things. 



If you carry the bees out you would 

 have what you describe. 



I have talked to Dr. Miller about this 

 matter of putting the bees out. I have 

 watched it closely; we always use a 

 wheelbarroow to shake them up, we do 

 it purposely. 



I began to asso'ciate the idea if they 

 stayed in winter quarters for three or 

 four months in the cellar when they 

 were put out in the spring they did 

 not know where they belonged and 

 they would stay where they were put. 



Mr. Kildow — I don't shake them. I 

 pick them up in my arms and carry 

 them as still as I can. 



Mr. Dadant — ^I have quit wintering 

 in the cellar for 15 years because we 

 have so many mild winters, but when 

 we put our bees in the cellar we give 

 them plenty of ventilation. There 

 was just a cloth between each hive. 



Another objection I have: We move 

 them when we think it is going to be 

 a nice day; sometimes it doesn't turn 

 out to be nice. I don't want them to 

 be disturbed so much. 



If they are in the spot where they 

 were in the fall before, the old bees 

 will remember the spot and will not 

 bewilder the young bees. 



If you have a large number of bees 

 come out at once and some of them 

 remember their location and are not 

 on their location they are going to 

 drift. 



If you have your bees come in large 

 numbers out of the hive — like the 

 young bees when they first fly — they 

 are all glad to take flight and come 

 out, hundreds of them at one time. 



If the old bees don't find themselves 

 on the spot they occupied in the fall, 

 they are going to take some of the 

 young bees with them and you will 

 have more drifting than if you put 

 them on the same spot. 



Mr. Stone — If there is no question 

 that has been read on this, I would 

 like to ask the question: 



There has been so much said in 

 Gleanings lately about the use of car- 

 bolic acid, I would like to ask if any 

 of the members here have ever tried 

 any of the things that were tried 

 there? 



One man that used carbolic acid 

 said his bees got to robbing. He heard 

 a- sound early in the morning and went 

 out and examined things; he could 

 not understand or imagine what he 

 had better do; he made up his mind 

 finally that he would hunt up the hive 

 that the robbers were coming from; 

 he didn't seem to have any considera- 

 tion for the hive that they were 

 robbing. 



He found this hive and he smeared 

 the landing place with carbolic acid 

 and in a couple of hours he went back 

 and repeated the operation. 



By noon everything was quiet and 

 he said that ended the robbing. Did 

 any one else read that? 



