THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



123 



previous day by giving water, seeing that 

 their queen is in good condition, that they 

 have plenty of food, spacing the frames to 

 remain so permanently while en route. The 

 next morning tack wire cloth above, then 

 close the entrance and we have all the force 

 that belongs to a full colony leaving no 

 stragglers behind from colonies shipped. 



When nuclei and bees by the pound are 

 made up of young bees as above, even for 

 several thousand miles travel, there is no 

 complaint received that "half the bees 

 arrived dead ;" on the other hand there 

 comes a notice that "bees arrived in good 

 condition only a few, three or four, dead." 



Bees purchased by the pound when most 

 of them are old field-workers are of very 

 little use to the purchaser in building up a 

 colony. ( )ld bees sent out with nuclei are 

 not so bad ; in this case the brood accom- 

 panying will hatch in time to take the place 

 of the veterans, 



A great mistake many make is in buying 

 bees too early in the season before the 

 wintering force disappears. This applies 

 mostly to bees purchased by the pound. 



In preparing packages for shipment in 

 very warm weather, plenty of ventilation is 

 given by the aid of wire cloth at top and 

 bottom, and a projection of one half inch 

 is made by tacking on strips over the wire 

 cloth acros the ends, at top and bottom to 

 prevent anything from being placed on the 

 packages, close to the wire cloth, to exclude 

 proper ventilation, or to have the packages 

 set flat on the floor so air cannot pass under- 

 neath ; then, too, plenty of space is given on 

 sides and top to give a chance to spread the 

 cluster should they be placed in too warm 

 quarters. 



In case of reaching a colder climate they 

 will readily cluster compactly to meet their 

 necessary demands for warmth. 



When shipping colonies or nuclei it is but 

 very little trouble to partly fill a comb with 

 water, which will insure them enough, 

 should the express company fail to sprinkle 

 them as requested per direction, which 

 should accompany each shipment. In 

 packages of bees by the pound a section of 

 comb with some water in it is the proper 

 thing, and cream candy made of sugar and 

 honey for food. 



Wired frames, or rather combs, are almost 

 an absolute necessity to prevent combs 

 from being seriously damaged. I was pres- 

 ent one day at the loading of some nuclei 



into an express car, when to my surprise 

 they were placed on their sides, the combs 

 lying horizontal, imagine the condition in 

 which these would have arrived if allowed 

 to remain so for any length of time on a 

 warm day, and combs not wired. 



The selling of bees by the pound at present 

 prices is not a very profitable business, 

 especially when two and threee jjounds are 

 ordered in one package. 



To take three pounds from one colonj^ 

 literally destroys that colony for much 

 further use, except as a small nucleus and a 

 few extra combs of brood to be given to 

 other colonies. Taking into consideration 

 the difference of what three pounds of bees 

 will accomplish in a fair season, and the 

 selling price of the same at the present 

 prices, the trade in this line bids fair to be 

 abandoned. 



I notice that Mr. Root has discontinued 

 the sale of bees by the pound. I also notice 

 that the talk of mailing bees in quantities 

 has ceased. 



High Hill, Mo. March 19th, 1892. 



Imbedding Wires in Foundation by the 

 Use of Electricity. 



W. E. DAGES. 



C^K NY ONE conversant with electricity 

 knows that a charge of sufficient 

 strength will quickly heat a wire; the 

 degree of heat depending on the size and 

 length of the wire and the power of the cur- 

 rent. When I read in the A. B. J. that Mr. 

 Dages had succeeded, by the use of a cheap, 

 home-made battery, in imbedding wires in 

 foundation, I thought : " Why hasn't some- 

 body thought of that before ? " I at once 

 wrote to Mr. D. for further particulars, and 

 he sent the following. — Ed. 



To make a battery, take three, quart fruit 

 jars (glass), and cut oft the tops just below 

 the taper. The best way to do this is to cut 

 with a glass cutter's diamond, then tap 

 lightly with a small hammer or the head 

 of an iron bolt, all around inside the 

 jar, just opposite the cut made by the dia- 

 mond, hen the top will come off just where 

 the diamond made the cut. Another way is 

 to file a groove around the jar, or grind one 

 with an emery wheel, then tap with a ham- 

 mer. This is the way I do it, although it is 

 not so perfect as the above methods, yet it 

 answers the purpose, take a red hot poker 

 and move it slowly around the place to be 



