316 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



May 15 



net, as it were. Before I lifted the hive from 

 the ground to remove it to the stand I in- 

 tended it to oecui)y henceforth, some of the 

 bees from the second swarm began to ckis- 

 ter on the cloth. I brushed them otf and 

 then went aV)out some ojjerations that re- 

 quired my attention. In the course of five 

 minutes 1 looked over to the aforesaid cher- 

 ry-tree to see what size of swarm I was get- 

 ting. Lo and behold, there was no swarm! 

 Closer observation, however, re\ealed the 

 fact that there seemed to be a goodly num- 

 ber of bees flying about the old oil-can I 

 threw on the ground beneath the tree after 

 1 emi)tied it of the bees I shook from the 

 tree so soon before. Approaching to inves- 

 tigate, 1 found that the entire swarm had 

 taken i)ossession of the inside of the can, 

 with the exception of a few bees which were 

 hastening to enter. I threw a sack over the 

 top of the can preparatory to getting the 

 camera. When I was ready I partially un- 

 covered the bee-container. Of course, I was 

 not able to show the large swarm that clus- 

 tered within; but enough bees are shown 

 clinging at the top on the outside to show 

 that something was doing inside. It was 

 but a few minutes after the camera's eye 

 winked that I had those bees running into 

 a nice comfortable dovetailed hive. Really, 

 it seemed to have all been done in the 

 twinkling of an eye. 

 Oakland, Cal. 



THE AUTOMOBILE AS USED BY AN 

 TENSIVE BEE-KEEPER. 



EX- 



Some Figures Showing Saving in Time and Labor. 



BY HENRY STEWART. 



[Mr. Henry Stewart is one of the extensive bee- 

 keepers of the covuitry, owning and operating a se- 

 ries of outyards. His experience wltli the automo- 

 bile for outyard work will be particularly season- 

 able and valuable, because the matter of getting to 

 and from outyards without wasting valuable time 

 is of paramount importance.— Ed.] 



For carrying supplies to and from bee- 

 yards I use a Buick automobile, which I 

 hnd most satisfactory. There are seats for 

 three ])ersons, the small seat behind form- 

 ing the cover of the tool-box. This I can 

 remove by taking out the hinge screws, and 

 with 2x4 pine pieces I build a platform 

 large enough to take six eight-frame su- 

 pers without piling them up. This frame- 

 work just fits in between the fenders over 

 the rear wheels, and it rests on the toj) of 

 the tool-box. To sui)port the load I extend 

 the two main ■2x4's of the frame under tlie 

 front seat, while at the rear two bolts 

 through the steel frame of the machine hold 

 every thing secure. 



To prevent the sujjcrs, etc., from shaking 

 off the platform, I have stakes that tit in 

 sockets in the framework. These stand as 

 high as the top over the front seat, and are 

 fastened by straps to the top. When I am 

 carrying a heavy loatl a rojie is placed 

 around the stakes ami held by means of 

 hooks to make every thing secure. To 



A SWAKM THAT CLUSTERED INSIDE AN OLD 

 OIL-CAN. 



change the car from a passenger vehicle to 

 one capable of carrying a load, as described, 

 requires about five minutes' work. The 

 load shown in the engraving is made up of 

 sixty 28-section supers. I can travel with 

 the load at the rate of from twelve to twen- 

 ty miles an hour, and I carry any thing that 

 I could carry in any vehicle of like capacity. 



The apiary furthest away is twelve miles 

 from home." To go to this yard with a light 

 load and a team requires two and a half 

 hours with good average driving, with an- 

 other half-hour for unloading, driving to 

 the barn, putting up the team, etc. Then 

 at noon I have to go back to the barn and 

 feed the team before I can go back to work. 

 At night there is another delay in hitching 

 up. Then if I wish to carry any thing from 

 the yartl I must either stay until dark or 

 carry it a safe distance from the bees, and 

 then get it loaded in a hurry before any 

 angry bees have begun to worry the horses. 

 I find that at least six hours of the time is 

 spent going and coming, with the extra 

 work made necessary because of the horses, 

 hitching uj), etc. 



With the auto I make the run in 45 min- 

 utes, and go right up to the bees, turn oflf 

 the switch, and in live minutes can be at 

 my work. At noon I jumj) into the car, go 

 about .so rods to dinner, and when I return 

 I can run right up among the bees again 

 and have no fear of any thing. I i)Ut in a 

 full half day's work in the afternoon, crank 

 up the machine, and in 45 minutes am at 

 home getting ready for supper. I save, 

 therefore, four and a half hours' time on a 

 trip. 



