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102 



NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



were labeled pure extracted honey; I 

 prefer a blank can, and label it as I 

 like. 



Feeding Syrup in Cold Weather. 



"Can syrup be fed to bees success- 

 fully at this time of the year (Decem- 

 ber) ?" 



Dr. Bohrer — Yes, I have done it lots 

 of times. 



Dr. Miller — Yes, I have, but I won't 

 do it again. 



Sour Extracted Honey. 



'"What is the best thing to do with 

 sour extracted honey? Is there a mar- 

 ket for it?" 



Mr. Arnd — Make vinegar out of it. 



Dr. Miller — Feed it to the bees in 

 the spring. 



Mr. Arnd — After you boil it and 

 skim it, it will sweeten somewhat. 



Mr. iHloltermann — It will spoil the 

 flavor. 



Heating Honey Before Canning. 



"Should extracted honey be heated 

 before putting it into cans or barrels?" 



President York — How many think 

 so? Everybody voting, votes against it. 



Dr. Miller — That depends upon 

 whether it is candied or not. 



Do Moved Colonies Do Better? 



"Why is it that colonies closed up 

 and removed several miles in the 

 spring always produce more honey 

 than colonies not so removed?" 



President York — If they do, you 

 should remove your colonies. 



Dr. Bohrer — I don't know whether 

 that is a fact or not. 



Mr. Huffman — The location has 

 something to do with it. 



Mr. Baxter — That is an old quesstion 

 of mine. I have had that up before 

 conventions for the last ten years, 

 and it has never been satisfactorily 

 answered. It is a fact they do, and 

 bee-keepers here last fall conceded 

 that was a fact. I removed an apiary 

 of sixty-five colonies last year, to a 

 poorer location than they were before, 

 and a poorer location than my other 

 apiaries, and the sixty-five colonies 

 produced more honey than any of 

 those in a much better location that 

 had not been moved. It has been my 

 experience invariably. "Why do uiey 

 do it? 



Mr. Cavanagh — The "shook swarm," 

 as they call it, they claim is the same 



as to remove colonies; it riles tnem 

 up; it stirs them up. You take a man 

 who changes his business location — 

 why, he goes to work "like a nailer" 

 to make everything go fine for a 

 while. I think it is just the same 

 with a colony of bees. The psychologi- 

 cal effect in a case of that kind strikes 

 the same as it would a human being. 



President York — I believe Mr. Cava- 

 nagh has moved around; he certainly 

 is making a success where he is now! 



Bees in Winter Passing from Frame 

 to Frame, 



"Is it advisable to confine bees on 

 frames in winter without a space 

 above, so they can pass from one 

 frame to another?" 



Mr. Baxter — No, it is not. 



Dr. Bohrer — To avoid anything of 

 that kind, I used to bore a hole in the 

 combs; take a stick and bore it 

 through the frames from about an 

 inch and a half to two inches of the 

 top-bar, so that they can pass through 

 from one comb to another. I have had 

 colonies starve to death by being kept 

 in one corner or one end of the hive. 



Dr. Miller — I think it is generally 

 understood there should be a passage 

 from one comb to another over the 

 top-bars, but I question whether it 

 is always necessary. Suppose you 

 have a colony clustered down below 

 the bottom-bars, what do they need 

 of a passage above? 



Mr. Cavanagh — The Doctor brought 

 up a point in line with my experience. 

 If a colony of bees is warm enough, 

 they don't need any other passage. I 

 used to pack them in cases like Ira 

 Bartlett uses. Now I never give them 

 any provision to get from one comb to 

 another, and I never lost a colony yet. 

 If it is not warm enough so they can 

 get around the comb, they must have 

 a passage through or above it. 



■ A Member — I would like to ask Mr. 

 Cavanagh what he has over the top 

 of his frames? Covered with bur- 

 lap? 



Mr. Cavanagh — A quilt, usually; 

 sometimes burlap. 



A Member — You winter out-of- 

 doors ? 

 « Mr. Cavanagh — Yes, sir. 



Mr.. Baxter — I can't afford to go to 

 that trouble in packing my bees; an- 

 other man and myself packed eighty 

 colonies in five hours, and if I had to 

 go to work and get that paraphernalia 



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