1900 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



309 



around hives raw hands indnlgo In, has 

 so completely disgusted me that I have 

 done all such work myself alone for 

 years. The main point to bo watched 

 is, to set the hives down ivithout a jar. 

 This is not always so easy especially 

 when tiering up four high and placing 

 the three and four hives in position, but 

 I accomplish it by pushing a little plat- 

 form or a box of the right lieiglit against 

 a stack of two hives. Upon this I step 

 with the next hive, holding it against 

 myself. I am then in a favorable posi- 

 tion to place the third liive upon tlie 

 second or the fourth upon tlie third. 

 After all the bees are in, I give them 

 half an hour's time to become quiet, 

 when I go in and remove the entrance 

 blocks and close up the cellar. 



It should be neither too warm nor too 

 cold when taking bees to cellars. A 

 temperature as near the freezing point 

 as possible is good. Sometimes sharp 

 freezes occur before we take in our bees 

 and during such the hives are apt to 

 freeze to tlie stands. It would not be 

 advi.-able to pry them apart when frozen 

 together solidly; to wait for a thaw, we 

 would many a time miss the best oppor- 

 tunity. To avoid this freezing down as 

 much as possible, I go over the yard 

 some time previous when the hives are 

 not frozen and prop them up with nails 

 or little wooden wedges. They are then 

 in sliape to go in any time when the 

 other conditions arc right. 



Hives sliould also be dry wIkui taken 

 into th(! cellar; although I have once 

 moved them in when tiiey wiire thickly 

 covered with snow and I could use a 

 hand-sled to move them on. They win- 

 tered fairly well that winter, too. 



The taking our bees out of tlie cellar 

 is practically the same as taking them 

 in; but I do not find it necessary to 

 close the entrances. For several rea- 

 sons I prefer the night for this work, 

 and I take all colonies out at one time. 

 I generally place each hive upon the 

 same stand it had occupied the season 

 before, but do not think that this is 



strictly necessary. 



1 very seldom take iny bees out of the 

 cellar before pollen may h(» had from the 

 elm. 



I have something nu)re to say about 

 moving into buckwheat, but will wait 

 till tliis would be more seasonable. 



Naples, N. Y., Sept. 39, 1900. 



A GRACEFUL ACT, WELL 

 DESERVED. 



THAT our younger readers may 

 more fully appreciate the picture 

 which graces this number of The 

 JiEE-KEp:PER, we have pleasure in re- 

 producing a few paragraphs from the 

 Canadian Bee-JoumaVs report of the 

 meeting of the Ontario Bee-keepers' 

 .Association, held at Toronto, in Decem- 

 ber last. Mr. McKnight's motion was 

 evidentlv a spontaneous outgrowth of 

 that same sense of obligation and high 

 esteem to which every man is subject 

 who has been intimately associated wMth 

 the gentleman whom he sought to 

 honor. It is a sense of obligation and 

 esteem which, as we know by actual ex- 

 perience, constantly increases by long 

 and very intimate association. 



Mr. McKnight : There is a little mat- 

 ter which I would like to bring up. We 

 have a gentleman with us during this 

 convention who is here only by the so- 

 licitation of a great many members. 

 This Association has been a great suc- 

 cess right from the first until now, and 

 that is something creditable. There 

 have been men who have done more than 

 Mr. J. B. Hall has for this Association 

 in a purely business way; but I want to 

 tell you there is not a man belonging to 

 this Association now, or ever did belong, 

 who has made its meetings so interest- 

 ing and practical as our friend Hall. 

 (Applause). He has been the life and 

 soul of our Association meetings for the 

 last nineteen years. Like myself, the 

 world is largely behind him; lie has not 

 iiia.ny years to be here, and I think it 

 would be a graceful thing to do anything 

 in our power to show our appreciation 

 of the value of his services. Altliough 

 h(; does, not say very mucli outside of 

 this Association, Mr. J. B. Hall is known 

 all over the continent of America. I 



