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ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



-57 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



Overhauling Bees. 



"Is it necessary or advisable to over- 

 haul every colony in the apiary in the 

 spring? If so when is the best time 

 to do so, and how?" 



Mr. Wilcox: It has been my prac- 

 tice for many years to do so imme- 

 diately after carrying them out of the 

 cellar, to clean them if they needed 

 cleaning. It is not absolutely neces- 

 sary. It is about as well to let them 

 wait a few days and give attention 

 only to those which are very weak, or 

 very strong and those which may be a 

 little low in stores. Also to see if they 

 want more feed for brood-rearing. 



Mr. Taylor: It is never necessary 

 nor desirable. 



Mr. Whitney: I clip queens, so I 

 find it necessary to do so. It is a good 

 plan. 



Mr. Wheeler: If Mr. Whitney used 

 the right hive he wouldn't need to 

 look through the combs. 



Dr. Bohrer: I would scarcely know 

 whether my apiary were in proper 

 condition to see if each had a queen. 

 Some are found queenless. Then some 

 disposition must be made of the bees. 

 You can often save a queenless colony 

 unless very much reduced. You must 

 look them over to know the actual 

 condition. 



Strengthening Weal< Colonies. 



"If any colonies are weak in brood or 

 bees, or both in the spring, what plan 

 would be the best to pursue in 

 strengthening them, and why?" 



Dr. Miller: As helping to bring out 

 the answer it might be well to ask 

 how many approve the Alexander plan? 



Mr. Wilcox: The Alexander plan has 

 been misunderstood. 



Dr. Miller: Was an excluder used 

 between the two? Was that part of 

 the Alexander plan? 



Mr. Whitney: The Alexander plan 

 is understood to include the excluder. 

 Then it isn't anything new. I supposed 

 It was not a very different thing to 

 put one colony upon another if we had 

 an excluder on, and the queens would 

 be protected. 



Mr. Wheeler: It was my idea that 

 they use wirecloth between them. 



Dr. Miller: Alexander never did. 

 Others do it but not Alexander. 



Dr. Bohrer: If I find a weak colony 

 I give it a good queen; and such an 



amount of brood as the bees can take 

 care of. I take the brood from some 

 very strong' colony and give the weak 

 colony only a small amount, just what 

 they can well care for. It won't weak- 

 en the strong colony, and will strength- 

 en the weaker one. 



(Here the Secretary read Alexander's 

 plan from "A B C of Bee culture".) 



Dr. Miller: How many have worked 

 this plan successfully? (4.) How 

 many unsuccessfully? (1.) 



Mr. Baldridge: Some have had a 

 good deal of experience. I don't like 

 the plan, because I think there is a 

 better one. Instead of putting the 

 weak colony on top of the strong one, 

 it should be reversed. I get better re- 

 sults. I have been practising this 

 method for 2 years — placing the weak 

 colony under. The bees from the 

 strong colony can go out without mix- 

 ing. When they return with their load 

 of honey they will return to the lower 

 hive. The young bees will remain in 

 the lower hive to a great extent. You 

 can build up better by placing the weak 

 colony under. I never had a queen dis- 

 turbed, because I put the strong col- 

 ony on very quietly. I don't lose any 

 bees nor any queens. That is a better 

 plan than any other. If you put it in 

 practice it will be worth every penny 

 that it has cost you to come to this 

 convention. 



Dr. Miller: I have failed with it, 

 and have succeeded with it. In one 

 case I put on the strongest colony a 

 very weak colony. In 10 minutes I saw 

 dead bees being carried out. I left 

 them alone. Soon all were killed. I 

 had not taken pains to do it quietly. I 

 suspect that was the cause. In some 

 cases I put a wire cloth between the 

 two. Then you don't need to be care- 

 ful. Then take off the wire cloth and 

 leave the excluder on. I remember 

 another case where a strong colony had 

 placed over it a weak one, and after 

 perhaps 3 days I raised up 3 frames 

 of brood from below, brushed all the 

 bees from them, and put 3 frames of 

 brood in the upper story. I left them 

 that way. Next time I went there I 

 found all those frames of brood were 

 occupied by bees. They probably came 

 from below. I left them, and next time 

 there was a good colony there. Right- 

 ly used, the plan is an advantage. 



Mr. Wheeler: Did you consider. 

 Doctor, that it was safer to use a wire 

 cloth for a few days? 



Dr. Miller: Yes, it is safer. If you 



