44 



FOURTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE. 



Mr. Coppin — I keep my bees under 

 grape vines; that does not furnish very 

 dense shade; it doesn't furnish any 

 shade at all to amount to anything un- 

 til the weather gets vej-y hot; the 

 grapes do not leaf out very early in 

 the season and when the grapes are 

 in full foliage it is in the hot summer 

 and I find it convenient to get under 

 there and work; much more pleasant 

 than out in the hot sun, and I have 

 found just as good results under that 

 shade as out in the sun. 



Mr. Bowen — Brother Coppin's bees 

 may be all right in the shade for him — 

 the question is not what a man can do, 

 but it is what the bees will do; if he 

 can get more honey outside the shade, 

 that is where he wants the bees. 



I like shade along about noon, and 

 the balance of the day have the bees 

 get the sun, unless it is too hot. This 

 year in my main apiary my bees were 

 in the shade and I didn't see that they 

 did any better than out in the sun; 

 my best hive was right in the shade; 

 and another one didn't have any shade. 

 I do more work with those in the shade 

 than out in the sun; it is more pleas- 

 ant, as far as that goes. I think if you 

 give bees plenty of ventilation they will 

 take care of. the shade part. 



So far as I have noticed I cannot 

 see that there is any special difference 

 between having them in the shade or 

 in the sun, if you do not have the shade 

 too dense; have them where they will 

 get shade part of the day and part of 

 the day be in the sun. A hive I had 

 in the suri most of the time this year 

 gave 165 lbs. from the 17th day of July 

 until the close of the season — so I think 

 the shade question is a matter that 

 does not cut much figure. 



Mr. Kildow — Take the time of heavy 

 fiow, basswood or honeydew, it does not 

 make much difference whether the hive 

 is in the shade or the sunshine; the 

 bees will be out before daylight, and 

 it does not make a particle of difference 

 with them; they will go after the stuff 

 if it is in the field. 



Pres. Baxter — It has been my experi- 

 ence — after pretty nearly 37 years — I 

 like a little shade and where the bees 

 can have sunshine early in the morning 

 and probably towards evening; if they 

 are shaded just a little bit the hottest 

 part of the day it is all right. I keep 

 bees for the crop they will produce, 

 and I don't care for myself if I can 

 get the results. I have noticed time 



and again that where you have bees in 

 dense shade they will not produce near- 

 ly as much honey as when you have 

 them in the open sunshine. 



I have one apiary that is right out 

 in the sun, not a tree around. I fed 

 that apiary an average of 2 cans of 

 honey this fall to winter them over 

 until next May. I have another one 

 home in dense shade and gave them 

 an average of 8 cans; local conditions 

 being just about the same. It is the 

 same as in some of my other apiaries; 

 in seasons where I have my largest 

 crop, those that have dense shade will 

 begin to work considerably later in the 

 day in the springtime and in the fall, 

 especially in the fall, than those in the 

 sun. 



There are many other advantages in 

 taking care of them — taking off frames. 

 Those that are in the shade are cool 

 and you cannot touch them until a cer- 

 tain time of day, while those in the 

 sun, as soon as the sun is up you can 

 get to work. 



About the first of October there are 

 certain changes in temperature. Give 

 me a little shade in preference to none 

 at all, but don't give me too much 

 shade. The whole season through is 

 what we must figure on. 



Mr. Kelley — I never thought I had 

 time to bother with bees until lately. 

 The bees get about like I do; they 

 hang around the hive. This year I 

 have had a swarm; along about the 

 middle of the day they were hanging 

 on the outside; sometimes I thought 

 they were going to swarm, but I didn't 

 think they would, a season like this. 

 I came to the conclusion the heat was 

 too great for them — that there were 

 too many bees in the hive and they 

 could not stand the heat. 



Of course I am glad this subject has 

 come up here; I may be shown wherein 

 I am wrong. I think that very nearly 

 all the bees in the hive came out and 

 sometimes they would fly around in 

 the air and light again; it was not be- 

 cause they were going to swarm; the 

 only reason I could see was because 

 they were too hot. 



I shaded my bees some after that 

 because I thought they were in misery 

 with the heat. 



Pres. Baxter — I have seen bees hang 

 out just as bad in the shade as in the 

 hottest sun; it is only a question of 

 management. If you had raised up 

 your hive and given them the proper 



