THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW. 



in large shipments, where enough could be 

 crated together to make it inconvenient to 

 handle carelessly, but I do not use it any 

 more, as much of the sugar is sifted down 

 and wasted ; besides, the outlay for sugar is 

 considerable and honey is preferable. My 

 experience — which has been mostly for 

 long distances — is that less than one pound 

 of food for each pound of bees is unsafe. 



I once sent a lot of bees to Canada. They 

 should have crossed at Detroit, but were car- 

 ried around by Buffalo and were on the road 

 over a week, yet " There was not a tea cup 

 of dead bees" in the eight cages, (24 lbs.) 

 but I have had bees reported starved with 

 the same quantity of food, when on the road 

 only three days. 



I now make my cages for three pounds of 

 bees, (which is a fair sized swarm) to take an 

 L. frame accross the cage diagonally, and 

 seldom lose any. I prefer an old tough 

 comb, just extracted, then weigh it and rub 

 in, with the hand, at the top of the comb, 

 the quantity of honey needed, and fill the 

 balance of the comb with water, rubbed in 

 the same way. 



For a one pound package I now use a full 

 section of honey, and my losses have been 

 far greater with one pound than three pound 



You say, the matter of ventilation and 

 space is'one that calls for judgment. I used 

 to make up my cages before hand and have 

 them ready and therefore uniform, so it 

 is safer to err on the side of too much space 

 rather than too little. 



I once sent a lot of bees to your State, 

 (Mich.) that arrived "In a blinding snow 

 storm," yet they went safely and did extra 

 well afterwards. 



These were sent on five or six combs, in 

 Simplicity bodies, with wire cloth top and 

 bottom, the top two inches above the 

 frames, yet had they been received by any 

 one not knowing just how to handle them 

 they might have suffered from too much 

 space. 



I once thought that quite a business might 

 be built up in sending bees from here after 

 the honey season, (which is over by May 

 20th,) and before it begins where the most 

 of my orders are from, but the extra trouble 

 of doing all the work under a tent and the 

 extra precautions about robbing make it 

 more desirable to work during the honey 

 season ; but the small margin in price, the 

 trouble of getting skilled labor, together 



with the discouraging effects of reported 

 losses make it a hazardous business. 



You compare the difference of now and' 

 a few years ago in sending queens. I had 

 a shipment of bees, (30 lbs.) lost in this way: 

 a package of fruit dropped on the crate 

 during the night and punched a hole in it. 

 The hole was not noticed when they were 

 transferred, which was before daylight, but 

 the next day I expect they made themselves 

 conspicuous as they arrived at their destina- 

 tion wrapped in oil cloth and then boxed up 

 in a shoe box all dead ! Many other in- 

 stances showed plainly that the packages 

 were not properly handled on the cars. 

 Skill in packing will not remedy some of 

 these things. 



I now crate the cages so the legs project 

 above as well as below. I do this for two 

 reasons. They are as safe wrong side as 

 right side up, and any thing put on top of 

 them is held away from the wire cloth. 



The best bees for shipping are obtained by 

 removing the hive and letting the old bees 

 occupy a new hive on the old stand for a few 

 days where they can have queen cells well 

 along from choice stock, and unite again 

 after shipment. [I suppose the young bees 

 from the old hives are shipped^ED.l 



I use % stuff for sides to three pound cages 

 (9 X 15%) and h stuff for the ends, (9x 12); 

 then, in crating, longer }4 stuff, really mak- 

 ing the ends double. This gives a safe and 

 light cage. Common building lath does for 

 legs. 



For one pound cages I make a box 4J^ x 43^ 

 X 12 inches. In one side I sink a piece of 

 hoop iron. This makes a form over which 

 to wrap the wire cloth. Then a thin piece of 

 basswood, under the lapped end and over the 

 iron, clinches the strawbery box tacks and 

 holds the cage securely. Half inch ends, 

 with a section of honey, make the cage com- 

 plete. After the bees are in, light sticks 

 should be nailed from one end to the other 

 to insure their not being mashed together. 

 If the express men would handle these care- 

 fully enough not to break the honey from 

 the sections, they ought to go safe. 



I would not have ventured to give these 

 particulars, only that you asked for them, 

 but if they are worth any thing to any one 

 use them ; otherwise destroy them and no 

 harm is done. 



Baetlett, Tenn. 



March 28th, 1892. 



