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yiovins Bees in tlie Fall of the 

 Year. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 586.— Is it safe and practicable to 

 move bees m the fall, when the frames are 

 tilled with honey, either on wagons or ship- 

 ped on cars ?— Minnesota. 



Yes, with ordinary care. — H. D. 

 Cutting. 



Yes, but not great distances. The 

 spring is tlie proper time. — Dadant & 

 Son. 



It is not so good, but with proper 

 fastening of the frames it can be done. 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



I move tliem on a wagon eveiy fall 

 and spring. I moved 184 colonies this 

 fall. — C. C. Miller. 



When the hives contain only old 

 combs, 3'es. When they contain new 

 combs, no. — M. Mahin. 



With care, it is safe to move them 

 by either conveyance. — Mrs. L. Har- 

 rison. 



I should dislike to do so after the 

 weather was too cold for the bees to 

 have a good flight. — Edgene Secor. 



Yes, if j'ou exercise care regarding 

 "jars and junks." In every respect, 

 except the weight of the combs, fall is 

 the best time, provided the bees have 

 a good flight after removal.- — James 

 Heddon. 



It is safer to move bees in the fall, 

 if the weather is not too cold, than in 

 summer. Where the necessary pre- 

 cautions are taken, it is always practi- 

 cable. — P. L. VlALLON. 



Much depends. Should the frames 

 be wired, by exercising great care in 

 their preparation, and in driving, they 

 may be successfullj' moved. —J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



That depends upon the size of the 

 fi'ames and on the combs. If frames 

 are large and not wired, and the comb 

 new, they could not be safely moved 

 without extreme care ; while with small 

 or medium-sized frames, well wired 

 and full of comb in which brood has 

 been reared for several years, they 

 could be safely moved. — R. L. Tay- 

 lor. 



Yes, if carefully done. If the combs 

 are old or wired, they will be less 

 likely to fall out and do damage. ]f 

 the bees are in movable-frame hives, 



the frames ought to be fastened A. 



J. Cook. 



It can be safely done if care is used. 

 The frames should be securely fast- 

 ened so that no swing will be allowed. 

 I find it fully as safe to move bees in 



the fall as in the summer. Ample ven- 

 tilation should be given — J. E. Pond. 



There is a little more danger at- 

 tending the shipment of bees when the 

 combs are filled with honey ; but if 

 the honey is sealed, and the frames are 

 secured in place so that they cannot 

 jostle about, the hives can be shipped 

 safely either on a car or wagon. — G. 

 W. Demaree. 



It is both safe and practicable. I 

 have moved and shipped hundreds of 

 colonies with frames filled with honey. 

 If the frames are well propolized they 

 will go short distances by rail or spring- 

 wagon without extra preparatiou ; but 

 if the journey is long, with re-ship- 

 ments, the combs must be secured with 

 wired sticks, and the frames securely 

 fastened at tlie top and bottom. — J. P. 

 H. Brown. 



Yes. If on a wagon, a haj'-rack is a 

 good bed to put them in. The frames 

 should ride crosswise, as the most 

 "shake", is crosswise. On the cars 

 the frames should ride lengthwise, so 

 as to sutfer the least " bump " from the 

 cars. Frames on metal bearings need 

 to be fixed in the hives so that they 

 cannot move in tlie hive body. Those 

 that have been used in wooden rabbets 

 one season are usuall}' firm enough. — 

 J. M. Shuck. 



The spring is the best time, when 

 there is but little honey in the combs, 

 but they can be moved in the fall, 

 when the combs are properly secured, 

 and it is not too late for the bees to 

 have a good chance to fly afterwards. 

 Old combs are preferable if the dis- 

 tance be a long one.— The Editor. 



Hivingr Swarms on Full Combs 

 or on Foundation. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 587— Are frames filled with comb 

 belter on which to hive new swarms, than 

 frames half tilled with foundation ?— I. R. 



Yes. — M. Mahin. 



Yes. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



My experience says, j^es. — G. M. 



DOOLITTLE. 



Yes. I would prefer the combs 

 every time. — J. M. Hambaugh. 



Sometimes they would be better, but 

 probably not if comb honey is the ob- 

 ject. — R. L. Taylor. 



If it is desired to extract from the 

 brood-frames, yes. If not, no — an im- 

 inense NO !— J. M. Shuck. 



To a certain extent it would depend 

 upon your method of work. For ex- 

 tracted honey, I want all the filled 

 frames I can get. — H. D. Cutting. 



Yes, undoubtedlj', if the combs are 

 worker-comliK, and not too old and 

 dirty. Frames half filled with foun- 



dation would incite bees to build drone- 

 comb. — Dadant & Son. 



I think that I can do better with full 

 combs. Others may do better with 

 half empty frames. — C. C. Miller. 



I prefer to hive swarms on frames 

 filled with comb, alternated with 

 frames filled with foundation. -^J. P. 

 H. Brown. 



Yes, in any case if working for 

 extracted honey ; and if for comb, jes, 

 if you properly contract the brood- 

 chambers.— James Heddon. 



Yes, but not better than full sheets 

 of foundation on wired frames. Hiving 

 swarms on frames half tilled with 

 foundation is not very practicable, im- 

 less wire is used. — P. L. Viallon. 



That depends upon the management. 

 For extracted honey, yes, much better. 

 For comb honey I prefer hiving 

 swarms on starters merely. See my 

 last edition of the " Bee-Keepers' 

 Guide," or Hutchinson's book on "The 

 Production of Comb Honej'." — A. J. 

 Cook. 



That depends. If worked for ex- 

 tracted honey they might be as good, 

 as, if a sudden flow of honey filled the 

 combs and cramped the queen, you 

 could extract. For comb honey, I 

 should just as soon have the latter. — 

 Eugene Secor. 



It depends altogether upon the time 

 when they are hived. If in the swarm- 

 ing season, I should prefer the founda- 

 tion ; and in any case I should want 

 empty cells enough to give the queen 

 ample room for egg-laying. — J. E. 

 Pond. 



In my experience, yes. But proper 

 management has much to do with the 

 final outcome. I hive my swarms on 

 empty combs, and put on the surplus 

 cases immediately, if I have queen- 

 excluders to put over the top of the 

 brood-chamber ; otherwise I wait until 

 the queen has begun to la}', saj* two or 

 three days before I put on the cases. 

 In this way n\y bees indulge their in- 

 clination to build combs in the surplus 

 cases. — G. W. Demaree. 



If it is intended to extract the honey 

 from the brood-frames, good worker 

 combs will be preferable to frames 

 that are only half filled with comb 

 foundation, because the bees may fill 

 the other half with drone comb. —The 

 Editor. 



Always ITIention your Post-OHice, 

 County and State when writing to this 

 office. No matter where you may happen 

 to be for the hour when actually writing— 

 never mention anything but your perma- 

 nent address. To do otherwise leads to 

 confusion, unless you desire your address 

 changed. In that case state tlie old as well 

 as the new address. 



