October, 1918 



GLEANINGS IN BKE CULTURE 



599 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



item will make the protection case a paying 



jiioposition. 



Dr. Phillips advocates the necessity for 

 \\\nd protection. While it is doubtless true 

 til at there are days when the temperature is 

 (|uite low, and when the wind is blowing 

 rii|ii(lly enough so that wind protection 

 would be valuable, this is not the rule in 

 Colorado, especially in the eastern part of 

 tiie State. When the wind blows here the 

 temperature is generally higher. I think 

 Inter-Mountain beekeepers would do well to 

 locate their apiaries' in a locality protected 

 as well as possible and then add two or three 

 inches of extra chaff packing to their cases 

 rather than bother to build special wind- 

 breaks. I think three inches of packing, to- 

 gether with the thickness of the packing- 

 case boards and the hive-body, will give 

 comfortable protection, even during a wind 

 storm, provided the entrance is contracted 

 to the minimum. Bees need very little air 

 in the winter time, and the colony may be 

 preserved by having a very small entrance. 



There are two difficulties with the packing 

 case that are probably the most serious 

 ones to be met. With the use of so much 

 straw or chaff, or even planer shavings, the 

 danger from fire is greatly increased. One 

 will need to be extremely careful at all 

 times when using a smoker around these 

 packing cases. Another objection is the 

 fact that mice will doubtless make more 

 nests in the bee yards, if they have these 

 packing cases in which to build them. The 

 least expensive method of constructing these 

 cases and at the same time of producing the 

 most effective results, has been on my mind 



_L 



GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF- PACKING C^t 



for some time. When the cheapest grade of 

 lumber is $26 per thousand, this is a matter 

 of much importance. The writer has not 

 been able to secure a satisfactory grade of 

 lumber for making packing cases for less 

 tlian $40 per thousand. This will make the 

 (Cist of lumber alone for a case come to be- 

 tween two an<l three dollars for four colo- 



nies. In the Eoeky Mountain region where 

 we have slight rainfall thruout the year, I 

 do not think it will be necessary to have a 

 floor for the packing ease. Simply jjut straw 

 or chaff" on the ground inside the walls of 

 the packing case, using a hive-stand if 

 thought desirable, but having this hive- 

 stand packed with straw or chaff. The hives 

 -In 



Packing cat< 



»«J i|.« il.jhtmj.b.irj. 



may be placed right on the straw, but the 

 disadvantage of this is that the straw may 

 settle somewhat and disarrange your tunnel 

 entrance thru which the bees pass from the 

 hive to the outside. I have just finished 

 making 60 packing cases for four colonies 

 each, and am using flooring for the roof and 

 common sheeting boards for the sides of the 

 cases. I am making these cases high enough 

 so that two hive-bodies may be used for a 

 brood-nest before removing the packing. By 

 the time the colonies have two hives filled 

 with brood the weather will have become 

 settled so that the protection from the 

 packing will be less necessary. On account 

 of our cool nights thruout the season, year- 

 round i^acking will, I believe, eventually be 

 adopted, and every beekeeper will do well to 

 make his packing cases in such a way that 

 the colonies can be manipulated easily with- 

 out ever removing them from the case. 



The accompanying drawings will explain 

 the kind of a case that I have made so far, 

 which will be found low in price and will 

 certainly give the bees protection. If the 

 colonies do as well in these cases as I have 

 been led to believe, they will prove to be 

 one of the best investments I have ever 

 made. During the month of April we pass- 

 ed thru three cold snaps that seriously af- 

 fected the breeding ability of the colonies, 

 and I believe that I am safe in saying that 

 protection of the colonies during the spring 

 breeding season is of double the importance 

 that it is during the winter, but there is 

 no reason why the j^rotection given the colo- 

 nies should not serve both purposes. 



One thing I have noticed is that beekeep- 

 ers have protected their colonies on the top 

 and three sides, and left the front exposed; 

 or they have packed all four sides and top, 

 and left the bottom exposed to the cold 

 ground beneath. The bulk of the beekeepers 

 who have given protection so far have done 

 it in this half-hearted manner. Let us quit 

 this way of doing and follow out the plan 

 as suggested, so far as possible. Of course, 



