January, 1919 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



13 



Northern beekeopors were fools enough to 

 extract all the honey away from their bees, 

 brimstone them, and then expect to buy 

 more bees with the money received from 

 the sale of honey saved by not wintering 

 those bees. 



During these after-war times — when all 

 kinds of shipments are badly congested — the 

 Northern beekeeper should depend mainly 

 on wintering just as he has been doing for 

 years back, and use bees from the South as 

 so much increase. When the price of honey 

 is so very high — 20 cents and more — he can 

 better afford to run his wintered-over bees 

 without increase than he can to divide them 

 and run for honey and increase both. The 



of fun and health going and coming, and 

 learning something about increase in the 

 South. If he succeeds he will be that much 

 ahead. 



Bees by Mail. 

 Now that bees without combs in package 

 form are admitted to the privilege of parcel 

 post under cei'tain restrictions, it will be 

 possible to get bees by mail in small lots. 

 At all events, the express companies will 

 have a warm competitor in Uncle Sam. This 

 one fact will have a tendency to keep down 

 express rates on bees; but it should be clear- 

 ly understood, however, that the postal au- 

 thorities assume no responsibility for safe 

 arrival of bees. However, in many and 



Fig. 4. — A package that Uncle Sam will accept for shipping bees by mail. It is made up of sawcuts 



slightly less in width than Vs inch. These sawcuts on all six sides take the place of double wire screen, 



which is also permitted in a second type of cage. 



time will never come when one can afford 

 to extract all the honey from his bees, brim- 

 stone them, and buy more bees. 

 Another Possibility. 



The beekeeper can, perhaps, afford to ex- 

 tract nearly all the honey from his combs, 

 and, as soon as the bees have stopped breed- 

 ing, shake them into combless cages, send 

 them South by express, follow them to des- 

 tination on the same train, unload them, and 

 let them loose on the combs or frames of 

 foundation at the receiving point. He can 

 then run them for increase or honey or both. 

 In April he can cage the queens, and, as 

 soon as brood hatches, ship the original 

 colonies and their increase to the North. 



I am not so sure but one could take his 

 regular truck, and, before the roads break 

 up, shake his colonies into two-pound cages, 

 make up a truck-load of three or four hun- 

 dred, and arrive at some point in the South 

 about a week later. In April or May follow- 

 ing, the process could be reversed. 



I hope that no reader of mine will enter 

 upon either of these propositions on a large 

 scale. Let him feel his way carefully. If 

 one has a little Ford, let him try out the 

 proposition of loading a hundred packages, 

 putting them on a trailer, or, better, in a 

 truck body made especially for the Ford. 

 He could, perhaps, afford to lose a hundred 

 packages and charge up the loss to a barrel 



perhaps most cases the shipper will guaran- 

 tee safe arrival. If the postmaster at desti- 

 nation reports the bees dead or in bad order, 

 and signs a certificate to that effect, the 



Fig. 5. — This is a package that has been used with 

 the greatest success in sending bees clear across 

 the continent without combs but on frames of foun- 

 dation. Experience from the tests already made 

 shows that on long distances the bees will draw out 

 the comb, and the queen will lay eggs. In numerous 

 instances we have had drawn comb and young lar- 

 vae on arrival at Medina. See page 532, September 

 Gleanings. 



shipper, in my opinion, should replace. If 

 the shipper is not made responsible for ar- 

 rival in good condition, he will be liable to 

 become careless. 



