THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



77 



the ends of the super, from the inside. 

 Screens were tacked on these for use on 

 the strong colonies. In screening, I 

 begin by tacking the nearest corner, then 

 stretch each side in turn, putting a tack 

 in each corner. The screen now hes 

 smooth and taut, but it must be secured 

 with plenty of tacks, or else the bees will 

 push it up and escape all along the road. 

 Lath were cut to the exact length to fit 

 the entrances. I formerly used wire 

 cloth guards, but can see no advantages 

 over the wooden blocks when upper 

 screens are used. In cutting the lath 1 

 lay them along in front of each row of 

 hives, so that it is quick work to follow 

 with a saw and box to cut on. I had a 

 good man to help, and we worked lively. 

 While 1 placed the upper stories he 

 stapled them, and we divided the work of 

 screening the weak colonies, directly over 

 the frames. Each hive was tipped up to 

 examine for cracks; and, meanwhile, I 

 kept watch of my man lest he forget to 

 staple a corner or leave a crack without 

 battening. If you pride yourself on being 

 careful, just wait until you have pre- 

 pared a few car loads of bees for ship- 

 ment; remember, too, that it is one thing 

 to ship new, uniformly made hives, and 

 quite another to ship old ones, of varying 

 dimensions. 



Up to this time, my negotiations for 

 teams had resulted in only two promises. 

 Farmers had been delayed with planting; 

 the land, a sticky clay, could not be 

 worked when the least bit wet. On the 

 other hand, the roads were hilly, rocky 

 and muddy, so you see it was a race be- 

 tween the fields and the roads to see 

 which would dry off first. The roads had 

 a little the best of it, or else 1 was more 

 anxious than the farmers. Six teams 

 finally responded; arriving at the Dilley 

 yard about daybreak. We loaded two 

 wagons at a time, and tacked a narrow 

 board on each side of the flat racks to 

 hold the hives in place. If a hive was 

 irregular in size we nailed it. The end 

 hives we nailed solid. Every rack had 

 bolster springs beneath; for this is a 



terribly rough and hilly country, I can 

 assure you. 



USE CAUTION IN EMPLOYING TEAMSTERS. 



Teamsters are usually either too much 

 afraid of bees, or else not enough so; 

 either attitude being assumed through 

 ignorance of the real danger. To avoid 

 accidents, insist on their following in- 

 structions explicitly. Put veils on the 

 men where the slightest danger exists. 



Don't allow the teamsters to bunch 

 the loads together, while on the road; 

 have them several rods apart, so that, 

 if a hive breaks loose, the teams follow- 

 ing will not be in danger of stings. Ask 

 each man to watch his own load, and 

 then do all the watching possible yourself. 

 Above all, keep the smoker lit all the 

 time, so that, if an accident occurs, you 

 can be "Johnny on the spot," with a 

 lighted smoker, and a tool box, to repair 

 the damage quickly. 



Remember that moving bees is danger- 

 ous business. Do not allow teamsters to 

 dictate to you in matters depending upon 

 your knowledge and skill. Neither do I 

 think it good policy to be small in "treat- 

 ing" while en route. Dinners for the 

 crowd, and a few cigars, have often 

 reconciled teamsters to being several 

 hours longer on the road than expected. 



We arrived at Petersburg about one 

 o'clock, having been almost five hours in 

 coming eight miles. The bees were un- 

 loaded near the switch, as the car had 

 not yet arrived. After dinner I hastened 

 back to the Squiers yard to help my man 

 finish screening. The problem of secur- 

 ing teams became even more serious, as 

 the fields had dried off, and farmers did 

 not consider money as any object. 

 However, a couple of old friends 

 responded (they would not see me 

 "stuck") and we started next morning 

 with four more loads of bees and one of 

 combs. We again set the hives on the 

 ground, as the car was not placed until 

 the following morning. We still had one 

 load of combs and covers to haul. For 

 this 1 had engaged a Petersburg teamster. 

 He got "stuck," of course, and 1 secured 



