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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Dec. 15 



cloth screen top and bottom. The new Dan- 

 zeubaker bottom-board we have adopted as 

 a standard for all our hives for 1903 was 

 used on the shipment of the entire 500 col- 

 onies. Its ji^eneral construction is such that 

 the floor-board can be removed entirely, 

 leaving- nothing- but a rim. This was se- 

 cured to the hive-body, and the entire bot- 

 tom was covered with wire cloth as well as 

 at the top; but instead of using- the ordinary 

 g-reen or black wire cloth used on common 

 house-screens, we secured a special kinil 

 of galvanized cloth of great strength — 

 something- that will stand roug-h usage, and 

 yet which would efl'ectually hold the bees. 

 This was further protected by cleats nailed 

 across the bottom as well as across the tops, 

 so that the hives could be piled up one on 

 the other. 



THE NEW DANZENBAKER BOTTOM. 



But a word about the bottom- board. The 

 illustration will give something of an idea 

 of its g-eneral construction. The floor- 

 board is made of >s lumber, metal-bound at 

 each end. The two or three boards com- 

 prising- it are tongued and grooved, and 

 then are secured by metal channel irons. 

 One end of the floor-board is slipped into a 

 groove in the back rim piece. The front 

 l)art of the rim is made shallower, permit- 

 ting the front of the floor-board rising or 

 lowering, thus contracting the entrance 

 from % deep to Ys, or less, even closing it 

 entirely if desired. The floor-board slants 

 upward from front to rear. At the extreme 

 back end of the hive the space is ^'s; at 

 the front, about an inch. During winter, 

 if the bees are kept outdoors, or during the 

 robbing season, the entrance can be con- 

 tracted to any extent by lifting the tilting 

 floor-board up in front until the desired 

 contraction is secured. In the summer time 

 or during the swarming season the entrance 

 is opened up to its full size. But another 

 feature that especially commends itself in 

 this bottom-board is that the floor-board 

 can be removed entirely, either for the pur- 

 pose of carrying the bees into the cellar or 

 for moving the bees. That it is an ad- 

 vantage to remove the floor-board to give 

 three or four inches of space under the 

 brood frames is further attested by the fact 

 that we sent 500 colonies to Cuba without 

 the loss of one, and a very light loss of the 

 bees themselves. 



In carrying bees into the cellar, experi- 

 ence shows that it is very desirable to give 



a very deep space under the brood-frames; 

 and this is easily accomplished by simply 

 pulling the floor-board out as you would 

 pull a drawer out of a cabinet; and the 

 s ime can be inserted in its proper position 

 the following spring just as easily. 



THE COST OF SENDING 'IHOSE 500 COL- 

 ONIES OF BEES TO CUBA. 



The question will naturally be asked. 

 " How much did it cost to send those 500 

 colonies to Cuba, and what did you expect 

 to accomplish?" To answer the first ques- 

 tion, we ascertained that we could deliver 

 them from Medina to their final location in 

 Cuba for a trifle over $1.00 a colony; and 

 we did. This cost, of course, does not in- 

 clude the transportation of the men them- 

 selves. While we secured transportation 

 from Medina to New York, we had to paj' 

 on the boat; but present indications go to 

 show that the fare of the men will be more 

 than covered by the honey actually secured, 

 and by the queens that are forthcoming 

 next spring, leaving a fair margin of profit; 

 and that leads me to explain that the prin- 

 cipal object of sending these bees to Cuba 

 w.is to make it possible for our experience*! 

 queen-breeder, Mr. Wardell, to rear queens 

 for us the year round. Earl}' in the spring 

 it is our rule to send to our customers 

 queens reared by other parties, for hitherto 

 that has been all we could do. Very often 

 our customers have complained that they 

 expected to get our stock; and that when 

 they wanted queens from these other parties 

 they will order direct, and will thank us 

 to send queens from our own apiaries or re- 

 turn the money. 



Now, then, we have sent a lot of our best 

 queens in this shipment to Cuba, and Mr. 

 Wardell is to rear stock from them just as 

 he did here in Medina. He will send them 

 up to Medina, or to points direct in the 

 United States, or elsewhere. 



From late letters received from Mr. 

 Wardell and from Mr. Green we find they 

 are busy giving the bees room, and at the 

 last writing they expected to extract in a 

 day or two. Mr. Wardell is also prepar- 

 ing a set of colonies for queen-rearing out 

 of the number, and before another spring 

 rolls around we shall have plenty of our 

 queens reared in Root yards by Root men, 

 ready for delivery. As soon as the season 

 opens up so the bee-yards around Medina 

 can be worked, Mr. Wardell will return to 

 take charge of the bees here. In the mean 

 time those colonies that are not already 

 sold in Cuba will be presided over by a 

 competent man. But we have already 

 practically sold the whole shipment; that 

 is to say, we shall be holding only a small 

 interest in them. We did not care to under- 

 take the management of a series of out- 

 Hpiaries in Cuba; but we wished to see 

 what could be done in the way of making 

 a large shipment when the conditions v\ere 

 made as nearly ideal as possible. Al- 

 ready one man, hearing of this shipment, 

 has spoken for 200 of the colonies. Mr. de 

 Beche will probably take a large share of 



