499 



Rev. M. Mahin, Logansport, Ind. 



E. D. Godfrey, Red Oak, Iowa. 



D. P. Norton, Council Grove. Kan. 



N. P. Allen, Smith's Grove, Ky. 



Paul L. Viallon, Bayou Goula, La. 



J. H. Spaulding, Augusta, Maine. 



Mr. Valentine, Double Pipe Creek, Md. 



W. W. Cary. Jr., Coleraine, Mass. 



Prof. A. J. Cook, Lansing, Mich. 



Rev. J. W. McNeill, Crystal Spring, Miss. 



P. P. Collier, Benton City, Mo. 



George M, Hawley, Lincoln, Neb. 



T. B. Parker, Goldsborough, N. C. 



J. L. Hubbard, Walpole, N. H. 



Prof. J. Hasbrouck, Bound Brook, N. J. 



A. J. King, 61 Hudson street, New York city. 



C. F. Muth, Cincinnati, O. 



D. A. Jones, Beeton, Ontario. 

 W.J. Davis, Youngsville, Pa. 



S. C. Dodge, Chattanooga, Tenn, 



F. F. Collins, Dallas, Tex. 



Mr. Johnson, St. George, Utah. 

 J. W. Porter, Charlottesville, Va. 

 Jacob Ide, Passumsic. Vt. 

 Christopher Grimm, Jefferson, Wis. 



E. W. Hale, Wirt C. H., West Va. 



Thomas Valiquet, St. Hilaire, Quebec, Canada. 



The following essay was then read, 

 entitled : 



Moving Bees. 



The subject of moving bees is very im- 

 portant, though it has been over-looked or 

 neglected by nearly all the writers on bee- 

 culture. Quite often we desire to move our 

 bees a few feet, or rods, and as it is the 

 nature of bees after they have once marked 

 the locality of the hive to return to that 

 particular spot, even afterthe hive is moved 

 away, it becomes necessary to adopt some 

 plan that will prevent them from returning 

 to the place from which the hive was moved 

 and cause them to mark the new locality of 

 the hive. Strong colonies moved a short 

 distance at night or during a cold spell in 

 winter have often been so weakened by the 

 loss of bees returning to the old location 

 that they became an easy prey to robber- 

 bees or the .ravages of the bee-moth larva?. 



Bees may be moved without loss if proper 

 precautions aretaken. I would recommend 

 the following plan, which with me has been 

 successful : Select a warm, bright day, 

 when the bees are active ; puff a little 

 smoke into the entrance of the hive, and if 

 the bees are on the wing, or in the held, 

 give them time to return ; thirty minutes 

 will usually suffice ; keep the bees from 

 going out of the hive by smoking them at 

 intervals ; have a box ready large enough to 

 cover the top of the hive ; if it is a movable- 

 frame one, remove the top ; if a box or gum, 

 invert it and place the empty box on the top, 

 into which the bees will ascend, and pro- 

 ceed to knock or drum on the hive 10 to 20 

 minutes, or until the bees with the queen 

 have passed up into the box ; then carefully 

 put the box, containing the bees, on or near 

 the spot where the hive stood, raise it a little 

 in front so that the bees on the wing can 

 pass in ; then move the hive where it is to 

 remain permanently, and proceed to hive 

 the bees in the old hive, as you would anew 

 swarm. Bees moved in that manner will 

 mark the locality of the hive. 



Bees can be moved a foot or even two 

 feet a day without loss, but it confuses them; 

 yet, that might be the best plan if they are 

 to be moved only a few feet. 



When bees are moved a mile or more, it is 

 not necessary to take the foregoing precau- 

 tions, but care should be taken to have all 



the bees in the hive ; if any should be on 

 the wing, use a little smoke and give them 

 time to enter the hive before closing it up. 

 It the hive has movable-frames, wire-cloth 

 can be tacked over the entrance ; if a box 

 or log hive it should be inverted, and coarse 

 cloth, such as coffee-sacks are made of, 

 should be tacked over the bottom, (now the 

 top) of the hive securely, so that no bees can 

 pass out. If in a movable-frame hive up- 

 ward ventilation should be given, by tack- 

 ing wire-cloth over spaces in the honey- 

 board, or auger holes made near the top of 

 the hive. The number of bees and con- 

 dition of the weather should control the 

 amount of ventilation. 



Early in the spring is the most favorable 

 time for moving bees by wagon or railroads, 

 for at that time they have but little honey 

 and brood, and in that condition will stand 

 the jolts and jars in transit much better than 

 when loaded with honey and brood. If 

 bees are moved when the combs are heavy 

 with honey, it should be extracted and the 

 frames secured to prevent them from moving, 

 which can be done in a Langstroth hive by 

 putting strips of wood one-half inch thick 

 and the length of the end-bars of the frame 

 between each frame at the ends, and tacking 

 strips across the top of frames at each end. 



If bees are moved in a wagon, I prefer an 

 ordinary farm wagon, without springs ; and 

 with straw, leaves or shucks, a foot deep in 

 the bottom to put the hives on, and to crowd 

 between the hives, so they will not touch or 

 move about. Box or log hives can be hauled 

 long distances over rough roads without 

 breaking down ; the hive being inverted, 

 the honey in moving is in the bottom and 

 the bees gather at the top. N. P. Allen. 



Smith's Grove, Ky. 



T. F. Bingham, Michigan, observed 

 that bees can be removed any distance 

 at this season of the year. 



Prof. Cook took issue, stating that 

 but four weeks ago he attempted 

 moving bees with unsatisfactory re- 

 sults. 



Mr. Bingham explained that four 

 weeks ago there was much brood in 

 the hives, and the weather being warm 

 queens were undoubtedly laying pro- 

 lifically. 



Mr. Heddon, Michigan, thought Mr. 

 Bingham's covering the box induced 

 the bees to note location anew. 



Charles Dadant, Illinois. We move 

 our bees at will, at any time of the year, 

 any distance from one rod to miles, 

 without loss, by giving them a slanting 

 board in front ; but after the bees have 

 been in winter quarters they will 

 always return to old location. 



E. D. Godfrey, Iowa, and Mr. Wins- 

 low, of Wisconsin, have practiced for 

 years Mr. Dadant's method, with satis- 

 factory results. 



G. W. Zimmermann, Ohio, has fol- 

 lowed the same plan, substituting col- 

 ored paper for boards in front of liives. 



Mr. Bingham stated when bees were 



