ILLINOIS STATE BEE-KEEPERS' ASSOCIATION 



163 



before the crop. We have transported 

 bees from one place to another, and 

 we have !had those bees do better than 

 the others, althougih the location was 

 not any better. We have handled 

 bees a great many times before the 

 crop, and we have had those colonies 

 more populous, and, therefore, more 

 active. Htere is imy explanation of 

 the matter: When you open a hive 

 of bees and smoke it, you frigihten the 

 bees. In order to tame bees, you have 

 to smoke them so tihat they will fill 

 themselves with honey. When they 

 do that, they go about the hive for a 

 while before they return. If you do 

 that many times, you have many bees 

 filled with honey We all know that 

 tihe queen is fed by the bees without 

 <having to hunt for her food herself. 

 When they want her to breed, they 

 feed her often. Therefore, when you 

 open your hive you have disturbed the 

 bees, and you have caused them to 

 fill themselves with honey, and be- 

 fore they put it back in the hive a 

 number of them have passed tihe 

 queen and offered her honey, and she 

 has eaten while the crop is not on 

 yet. They fill themselves ouf of their 

 old honey. ' The queen .will lay more 

 for that time; it wtill only last a day 

 or two; 'but if you continue it, it will 

 last longer. Now, an increased en- 

 ergy on the part of the bees, I think, 

 would take place w^hen they were 

 changed in location. Tou know that 

 your bees are acquainted with your 

 location, and it probably takes them 

 several days to become acquainted 

 with the entire surroundings. They 

 go a mile and a half or two miles, but 

 they do not get settled in one day; 

 it takes many days. Those bees, 

 when you have moved them, have to 

 learn the location. Put yourself in 

 the place of those bees. It certainly 

 must make them restless. As they 

 get acquainted with the locality they 

 will hunt more and find more honey. 

 There is an increased energy w^hich 

 has been cg-used by the new location. 

 When it comes to extracting I do not 

 believe that extracting often makes a 

 difference, only that you get 'more 

 honey, but it is thinner. 



Dr. Bohrer — In the matter of shak- 

 ing bees I never practiced it except 

 in this way. After having had foul 

 brood come into my apiary two years 

 ago, in reinforcing I put some power- 

 ful colonies out on some fourteen 



frame hives; they were not only strong 

 in stores and combs, but also had a 

 prolific queen. I would take a comb 

 out of that strong colony and give it 

 to one of the weak ones. I would put 

 a sheet of foundation in and they 

 would build it out, and in one 14 frame 

 hive I did that more than fourteen 

 times. When I found a colony was 

 busy, and I found a number of combs 

 or frames nearly coated over I brushed 

 the bees off, moved that and put it 

 into a super of the same size — I used 

 nothing much but standard Langs- 

 troth supers — and put it over another 

 colony, because the bees can take bet- 

 ter care of the honey than I can until 

 I am ready to extract! and I find by 

 taking the comb away from the colony 

 when they have the hive almost filled 

 to its utmost capacity, a number of 

 frames finished up and nearly sealed 

 over, by taking out two or three of 

 those frames and giving them founda- 

 tion or empty comb, it seems to in- 

 crease their energy. As to taking 

 bees that have lain out a number of 

 times, I never allow that; I wouldn't 

 have it. I would like to know of any- 

 one having a colony or hive not full 

 of honey, where the bees hung out 

 and wouldn't work in it, especially if 

 there was a honey fiow? I don't think 

 you will find that to be the case. When 

 the hive is full and they determine 

 not to swarm they probably will lay 

 out and do nothing. 



Mr. iMcClintock — Just a thought 

 while we are passing in regard to the 

 hauling of bees. I have practiced to 

 some extent migratory bee-keeping^ 

 I do not count that moving a colony 

 of bees necessarily puts them in a 

 better condition internally in regard 

 to the hive. This season I had an 

 apiary about fifteen miles away, and 

 I moved the colonies from my own 

 home apiary some fifteen miles to a 

 basswood section, and I moved some 

 of the colonies from that outside 

 apiary back to my own home yard, 

 and the colonies in my own home 

 apiary that were poor in the spring, 

 this fall can show up more pounds of 

 honey than any colonies we moved 

 from this apiary fifteen miles away . 

 to my own yard. The colonies I had 

 moved home were, some of them, in 

 good spring condition, and some which 

 were in an awful condition at home 

 can show up more pounds of honey 

 today. It seemed to me after I had 



