142 



FIFTEENTH ANNUAL, REPORT OF THE 



the frame, you have these strips nailed 

 that hold it a proper distance? 



Mr. Bull — My spacing is on top. 

 Nail two strips across the top of your 

 frame, brood frames and extracting 

 frames the same. In ordinary hand- 

 ling those frames will never budge; 

 I use strips of strong enough wood. 



I take those strips off at once "With- 

 out pulling any nails; it is tough wood, 

 it won't break. 



I can extract honey as fast as a 

 boj- can take those off. 



President France — In the moving of 

 your bees to and from the yards, do 

 you put something oyer the entrance 

 to keep your bees from flying? 



Mr. Bull — No, sir, I leave my en- 

 trance wide open; I prefer to move to 

 the outyard the last week in April, the 

 fewest bees and less honey in your 

 hive just before a new hatch of bees 

 comes in. Three weeks after you take 

 your bees from the cellar. Then most 

 of your old bees have died off and the 

 young bees have not hatched; there 

 are very few bees in the way. 



I have my bottom boards fastened 

 to the hive; I use 5 -penny nails on 

 each side and nail that cover down on 

 the hive; use a little smoke at the en- 

 trance; get on the truck; crank up, and 

 away I go. If cool enough weather, if 

 around 40 degrees, I move in day- 

 light; the same way in moving the 

 bees home in the fall in November, 40 

 degrees F. ; go to your yard, nail on 

 the bottom boards and cover, smoke 

 a little bit at the entrance, put them on 

 your truck — and as long as you keep 

 moving those bees will not go out. 



You can drive where you want to go 

 and set them off. 



Mr. Wheeler — He must have quieter 

 bees than I have; I tried that and I 

 had all sorts of experiences. Neigh- 

 bors along the road on each side got 

 stung for days afterwards. I cannot 

 keep them in the hives that way — and 

 a stray bee that has gotten out of the 

 hive and lost along the road is the ug- 

 liest critter. 



Mr. Bull — If you use not enough 

 smoke, the bees will go out; and if you 

 use too much they will go out; you 

 have to use it just right. 



Mr. Miller — I use a little cotton and 

 it saves any of the bees going out. I 

 prefer to move in the daytime. 



President France — You close the en- 

 trance ? 



Mr. Miller — I put a little cotton in the 

 entrance. I buy a roll of cotton for 

 ten cents, take a hive tool and push in 

 a little cotton I usually close them up 

 before moving. 



President France — Do you use that 

 cotton dry or damp? 



Mr. Miller — Dry; I have moved them 

 like Mr. Bull does, without anything, 

 but sometimes, if strong colonies, they 

 will come out. It takes about an hour 

 to move fifteen miles. 



President France — In California, 

 where the weather is quite warm, they 

 move there three and sometimes four 

 times in the season, for change of pas- 

 ture, in the valleys, up in the flats, and 

 have a few hills, and back again; it is 

 a warm climate; they have rough roads, 

 and have to be shut up a considerable 

 length of time, and they have to put 

 something at the entrance so the bees 

 can't get out; they use a screen, leav- 

 ing plenty of air space. (Illustrating.) 



We find that it is an excellent way 

 to move bees; you can slip that on 

 there when there are no bees in or out 

 of the entrance, and we use three- 

 penny nails. 



Although we may be a long time on 

 the road, moving from one outyard to 

 another, sometimes it has been done 

 later than Mr. Bull does; we give them 

 no chance to leave and no chance for 

 smothering. 



Mr. Bull — I don't want te move any 

 bees in hot weather. I use a two- 

 story hive and leave the super on and 

 moving screen on top of that and close 

 my entrance tight and get my ventila- 

 tion from the top; if the ventilation is 

 not enough' and they are on the road 

 any length of time, I use water. 



The entrance block I use is different 

 from anything I have seen; I guess 

 it is not complicated enough for sup- 

 ply dealers. It is a board or block 15% 

 inches long and thickness of entrance 

 % inch one way and 15-16 inch the 

 other. Slip that in the hive and slip 

 the hive head on your bottom board 

 % inch; in that way you will have 

 enough projection to hold that cleat in. 



Mr. Wheeler — I have a way of my 

 own of shutting my bees in. I use a 

 4-inch rim with ac screen under it. 

 When I set them in the wagon or auto- 

 mobile, I have a strip .% inch thick 

 under the screen. I cover everything 

 over with a thin cloth; I don't allow 

 a bee to escape from the time I leave 



