414 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



As a whole, the convention was a suc- 

 cess, and with the present officers the 

 outloolv for the future is very promising 

 for a strong and influential Association. 



Our thanks are due to the citizens of 

 Owatonna for their kind treatment and 

 hospitality, as they gave us a free hall, 

 board and lodging. 



Theilmanton, Minn., Feb. 13, 1892. 



Tallng Bees Out of Cellars. 



B. D. SCOTT. 



As the season is advancing, and the 

 moving of the bees from the cellars to 

 the summer stands will be in order, I 

 will offer a few suggestions which have 

 proven successful with me since winter- 

 ing bees in the cellar. 



For several seasons I carried my bees 

 in by hand — one person on each side of 

 a hive — and the traveling was more tire- 

 some than the work. Now I draw them 

 to the cellar on a one-horse wagon, 10 

 or 12 hives at a time, and in IM to 2 

 hours: Mrs. Scott and I can put in 70 

 or 80 colonies, and not feel much the 

 worse for our labor, and no one com- 

 plaining about being stung. 



In the Spring, when the time comes 

 for taking the bees from the cellar, 

 after sundown, we use the same wagon 

 and draw the same number of colonies 

 until all are out. No bees fly from the 

 hives, and none are lost. I prefer mov- 

 ing them at night, so that they will be- 

 come quiet before morning ; then when 

 the sun rises, they come out more 

 gradually. 



My experience teaches me that it is 

 better to keep out of the bee-yard when 

 70 or 80 colonies are out for a cleansing 

 flight, unless one has a suit of clothes on 

 for the occasion, or is not very par- 

 ticular. 



Bees taken from their winter quarters 

 in the middle of the day become aroused, 

 and, when the hive is opened, rush pell- 

 mell in the air without marking the 

 location of the hive, as the hive was not' 

 put in the same place from where taken 

 the Fall before. The bees become lost, 

 and mix with other colonies, or are 

 killed by entering the hives of strong 

 colonies. 



Bees taken from the cellar at different 

 times, to be put in the same yard, are 

 more liable to be robbed, as those taken 

 first have marked tiicir location, and 

 are looking for honey, and will take it if 

 it can be found in other bives, if not 



well guarded. Bees taking a purifying 

 flight, after four or five months' con- 

 finement, are in pretty poor condition to 

 protect themselves among a lot of strong 

 colonies that have a disposition to rob. 



I have kept bees since the Fall of 

 1869. At the beginning of my bee- 

 keeping I had bees robbed nearly every 

 Spring, from the fact that I did not 

 know how to prevent it. Late years I 

 have but l:ttle robbing at home, and all 

 I have is done by colonies that lose their 

 queens while in the cellar; generally 

 such colonies are attacked the same day 

 of their first flight. 



When I discover a colony being rob- 

 bed, I examine it at once, and shake the 

 bees in front of some hive. I close the 

 entrance to a bee-space, and let them 

 carry the honey out, and keep them as 

 long about it as I can. I let the hive 

 stand where it was robbed. Remove it, 

 and the next hive will be attacked. If I 

 wish to get rid of any old honey, I put it 

 in this hive, and the bees will carry it 

 away, and not trouble any other hive. 



I am an advocate of Spring feeding 

 for this locality, as our white honey is 

 white clover and basswood. I have no 

 bee-feeders, but I have fed hundreds of 

 pounds of honey to my bees in the 

 Spring in combs put along the fence, 

 and at the ends and sides of the honey- 

 house ; and never, to my knowledge, 

 have I lost a colony by so doing. If I 

 remember rightly, a great many bees 

 were kept within a mile of me, but none 

 are kept to-day. Black bees cannot 

 stand free dinners with Italians. 



My bees are all in the cellar wintering 

 finely, and all are alive, now. To-day 

 we are having the heaviest snow-storm 

 of the season, the snow falling two feet 

 deep on the level. If an old-fashion 

 Winter brings forth a good honey sea- 

 son, 1892 will be a good one. 



Ovid Centre, N. Y., March 1, 1892. 



OMo, Fa. anl H. Y. Conyeiitlon. 



GEO. SPITLER. 



The 12th annual session of the North- 

 eastern Ohio, Northern Pennsylvania, 

 and Western New York Bee- Keepers' 

 Association was held at Ashtabula, 0., 

 Jan. 27 and 28. 



Owing to the absence of the President, 

 N. T. Phelps, the afternoon of the 27th 

 was spent by those present in an in- 

 formal way, giving experiences, and 

 getting better acquainted with each 

 other. 



