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OIKANTNOS IN HEE CULTURE 



Nov. 15 



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NATIONAL BKE-KBEPERS CONVENTION, .VLBANY, N. Y., 



■T. 1:;, liJIII. REPORT OF THE CONVENTION I..VST IS.slK, PAGE 1197 



SHIPPING LONG DISTANCES BY FREIGHT. 



Building a Separate Floor io the Car for Each 

 Layer of Hives. 



BY VIHGIL WEAVER. 



From late fall until early spring one can 

 ship colonies of bees in single hive-bodies. 

 First, all bottoms (placed deep side up) 

 should be nailed on tight. I use four crate- 

 staples, two on each side, at an angle of 45 

 degrees. By having the staples slope in op- 

 posite directions the hive-body will be kept 

 from slipping either backward or forward. 

 This is quite important, as any slipping 

 would tend to release the bees. 



If the frames are self-spacing, all is well. 

 If the colony covers more than four combs 

 and less than eight, take out one of the eight 

 combs, pressing the remaining ones to each 

 side of the hive, leaving a space in the cen- 

 ter for the bees to cluster in. I press the 

 combs tight to the sidesof the hiveand nail 

 each inside frame with a l^-inch nail. If 

 the colony covers eight or ten combs, I take 

 put two combs instead of one. 



In warm weather, when the colonies are 

 strong I place a deep sujjer on top of each 

 colony and nail the two bodies together, in 

 the same way that the bottom-boards were 

 nailed on. I remove every other frame from 

 the super and nail the others, after spacing 

 them equal distances apart. For so large a 

 colony we do not remove any combs from 

 the brood-chamber since there is clustering 

 space in the super above, but force all of the 

 frames to one side and nail the outside 

 frame to hold the rest firmly together. 

 If the combs should be stuck together 

 with burr and brace combs, the nailing 

 would not be necessary, especially in ten- 

 frame hives. 



Instead of a cover I make a frame of }i- 

 inch stuff that fits the top of the hive, and 

 tack a wire screen over the frame, held on 

 securely with thin strips nailed on top. 

 This gives a pa clustering-space at the top. 

 so the bees can not crowd too closely against 

 the screen, and thus smother. When this 

 screen frame is nailed tight to the hive, and 

 another screen nailed over the entrance, the 

 colonies are ready for shipment. 



In cool weather a box car may be used; 

 but in warm weather a stock-car is best. To 

 load the car, jilace a layer of hives over the 

 bottom, making sure that the frames are 

 lengthwise of the car. About 120 eight- 

 frame hives can be put in one layer in an 

 .sx36-foot car. Before the second layer is 

 put in, it is best to build a floor above the 

 first layer by nailing 2X4's crosswise of the 

 car over about every other hive, turned flat 

 side down. Then cover the entire sjjace with 

 good strong lumber for a floor. Buy this 

 lumber in 18-ft. lengths if possible; if not, 

 three 12-ft. lengths will answer. It is best 

 to make a new floor over the whole car, then 

 the next layer of bees can be placed on it, as 

 on the original car floor. The lumber for 

 the floor should be toenailed to the ends of 

 the car rigidly, as it must not move a parti- 

 cle. I do not think it best to put more than 

 three layers in a car. 



The solid floors for each layer will keej) 

 out the light, and will also keep the heat 

 from the lower hives from injuring those in 

 the upper part of the car. This is an im- 

 portant advantage; for if any colonies smoth- 



er they are always the ones on top. It is 

 best to co\ er the top layer of hives with 

 something to keep out the light, as the light 

 makes the bees crowd to the top, and this 

 is what plays havoc. If the colonies are 

 packed solid in a stock-car, there will be no 

 need of spraying the screens to cool off the 

 bees. 



In the year 1905 I shipped 130 colonies of 

 bees 7oU miles and lost only 11 colonies; and 

 even this loss could have been prevented if 

 the combs had been removed according to 

 the plan above. They were shipped Sep- 

 tember 15, with a minimum temperature of 

 about 85 degrees during the time they 

 were on the road. The trip took in all 66 

 hours. 



I found it was quite handy to have a few- 

 pails of honey to give to the railroad men 

 when I wanted a favor. Making transfers 

 is the hardest part for the bees. It is a good 

 plan to climb into the engine-cab and ask 

 the engineer to handle his train as easily as 

 possible, and then give him a bucket of 

 honey for his trouble. 



Valley View, Ky. 



