58 



SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



are very careful it is not necessary, but 

 it is safer. 



Mr. Taylor: I haven't had very much 

 experience — only 2 or 3 colonies. I 

 never lost any bees that way. The 

 first one I ever tried was before I 

 heard of Alexander's plan. I found 

 a colony that I judged was queenless. 

 It had quite a large number of bees. 

 I put a queen-excluder on ar^other hive 

 and set it on top. I found that they 

 had a queen, and very soon I found I 

 had a strong colony above as well as 

 below. I used a queen-excluder. 



Dr. Miller: I don't believe that the 

 excluder is necessary if the poor col- 

 ony is weak enough so that there will 

 be no direct connection between the 

 two clusters, if the work is properly 

 done. The excluder merely prevents 

 the queen passing through. It will not 

 prevent the bees passing fro:.Ti one part 

 to another. An excluder is not neces- 

 sarj'. 



Mr. Taylor: If the weather is warm 

 and the bees are active, I think it 

 would be quite dangerous. If the 

 weather is cool so that they remain in 

 their separate clusters for some time, 

 it is safe. 



Wintering Two Weak Colonies in One 

 Hive. 



"Has any one had experience in 

 putting 2 weak colonies into one hive 

 with a partition between, and have 

 them winter in good condition?" 



Dr. Miller: I have had lots of them, 

 and they wintered in good condition. 

 Use a %-inch wooden partition. 



Mr. Taylor: I have wintered qiiite 

 a number. I had several colonies light 

 in stores. I selected some heavy col- 

 onies and put on a queen excluder and 

 set the light colony on top of the heavy 

 one, and they wintered all right that 

 way. That is, generally. But I put 

 them out and allowed them to remain, 

 and in that case the Alexander plan 

 did not work very well. A great many 

 of them united in one hive or the 

 other. 



Dr. Miller" With a partition between 

 the frames, 2 colonies can be wintered 

 in the same hive. I wintered perhaps 

 20 double hive colonies. When I looked 

 in the winter at the cluster in each 

 hive they would be down apparently 

 in one cluster, merely with that one 

 partition between them. Each cluster 

 got the warmth from there. The 

 cluster was just as nicely formed as 

 if the 2 had been in one colony and 



some one had slid in between them 

 that board.. I believe the 2 (supposing 

 each covered 3 frames of brood) would 

 winter as well as one 6-frame colony. 

 There is certainly a real advantage in 

 having 2 weak colonies together. 



Mr. Taylor: I don't see much dif- 

 ference between the two cases, ex- 

 cept that the bees can communicate 

 with one another in my plan, but the 

 2 can work together just the same. 

 They form one cluster the same as Dr. 

 Miller's. 



Mr. Kannenberg: Would a wire par- 

 tition be better than the wooden? I- 

 believe the heat would go through the 

 screen better than it would the wood. 



Dr. Miller: Wire might be a little 

 cooler. 



Dr. Bohrer: I had some queens that 

 I wanted to save over this fall. I had 

 a good, strong colony and put in a 

 good, strong partition. I gave a col- 

 ony that was queenless a queen. You 

 must see that the bees are equally 

 divided. I introduced the queen after 

 the ordinary method. I don't see why 

 they won't winter well. I think the 

 wooden partition is better unless you 

 want the queen to be acquainted with 

 the bees on both sides. 



Mr. Kimmey: Three years ago I 

 wintered 6 colonies that way in 3 10- 

 frame hives, with partitions of as thin 

 wood as I could use. There was no 

 connection whatever between the two 

 parts. 



Dr. Miller: In the spring I put them 

 on the sunimer stands and left them 

 there until crowded and then emptied 

 them into ordinary 8 -frame hives side 

 by side, and no trouble. 



Granulated Honey. 



Mr. Bartkemeier wants to know what 

 to do with people that ask foolish 

 questions about granulated honey. 



Dr. Bohrer: Tell them that he is not 

 allowed to sell honey that is not pure 

 unless so labeled. That is the plainest 

 way to deal with that kind of people. 



Mr. Whitney: I would say, if I 

 were selling honey, that pure white 

 clover or sweet clover honey would 

 granulate, and if any one has some 

 that would granulate, it is pretty evi- 

 dent that it is pure. 



Dr. Eaton: I suppose I have had 

 about as much experience with that 

 line of complaint as bee-keepers them- 

 selves. Every little while some one 

 will come in with a sample with the 

 complaint that the honey he had pur- 



