ArRll.. 1919 



G T. E A N T N G S IN BEE CULTURE 



and putting theiu in one story, covering the 

 frames with paper and filling the space 

 with packing material, I find that the bees 

 build up very rapidly. I took one little 

 yard and crowded the bees down to the 

 frames they were occupying, giving them 

 frames of stores and taking off the upper 

 story. The lower story was then packed in 

 the manner stated. The result is that this 

 little apiary is fairly booming. 



In what form would I give the packing 

 or protection? One thing I would do, I 



No. 4. — Ford ;ind trailer used liy Mr. Sweet in mov- 

 ing the 18 colonies mentioned in the text. Notice 

 that the wheel on the outside is wire. Tlie mate 

 to it on the other side broke down and was replaced 

 by a wooden one " to get it home." A two-wheel 

 trailer, if rightly dasigned, will carry from 700 

 to 1,000 pounds. In some places one can be rented 

 for $1.50 a day. Its cost will run all the way fr»m 

 |50 to $150. It is a very common practice in Cali- 

 fornia for beeikeepers to move their bees with a two- 

 wheel trailer. All the way from 30 to 50 colonies 

 can be moved at a time. The big mileages that can 

 be covered make it possible for one to move 150 

 colonies in a day with this kind of equipment, but 

 one should remember to have wooden wheels instead 

 of those made of wire. See Fig. 5. 



would follow the plan that Mr. Blake pur- 

 sues of jjutting the brood-nest on top, not 

 on the bottom. Furthermore, I would con- 

 fine the bees to one story in localities where 

 there was willow, eucalyptus, or other 

 sources of honey during the winter. If the 

 cluster couldn't cover 10 frames, I would 

 squeeze it down to 8 or 6. I would put oil- 

 cloth over the tops and sides of the cluster. 

 Over this I would put newspapers so as to 

 confine the heat to the space the bees can 

 actually occupy; and I would use a double 

 cover, one telescoping over the other. I 

 Avould also contract the entrances. 



A better arrangement, perhaps, would be 

 to have strong colonies in the upper story 

 with honey in both stories, and the more 

 stores the better. If the beekeepers in the 

 State had larger brood-nests, or larger hives, 

 so that the stores and the cluster could be 

 in one hive, it might be better. If I were 

 using 13-frame, or long-idea hives, I would 

 crowd the bees down to as many frames of 

 stores as they could cover and then put 

 packing on the sides. With the long-idea 

 hive' of 32 frames, one could crowd the 



bees on 15 or 18 combs of stores and then 

 put packing on the sides. If packir;; shou'd 

 be put on top, this would give very good 

 protection. 



1 am not sure but that double-walled hives 

 in the State would be good economy. The 

 extra walls would prevent the heat of the 

 sun during the middle hours of the day 

 from penetrating into the hive and stirring 

 up the cluster to unusual activity. It would 

 prevent the cold of the night from chilling 

 the brood and would make it easier for the 

 bees to take care of the brood than they^ 

 • an under the present plan of wintering. * 



The Problem of Bee Disease. 



Another very serious problem is bee dis- 

 ease. In spite of all the inspection that has 

 been carried on, bee disease, if I am cor- 

 lectly informed, is spreading in the State. 

 What is needed is more education for the 

 small beekeeper, and that means bee ex- 

 tension workers sent out by the State, whose 

 function would be rather to educate as to 

 liow to know and distingu-ish the two types 

 of brood disease and how to treat them. 



If there is any Eastern man thinking of 

 coming to California because he thinks that 

 the State is a veritable paradise for keeping 

 bees, he may find that he is jumping from 

 the frying pan into the fire. That money 

 has been made by keeping bees in the State 

 cannot be disputed. I already know of a 

 half-dozen beekeepers who last year went 

 beyond the $10,000 and $20,000 mark in the 

 production of honey. At the present high 

 scale of prices, the very fact that bees can 

 not be purchased at any price, and that they 

 bring all the way from $10 to $20 a colony, 

 shows that the business is not as bad as it 

 might be. 



Incidentally it might be remarked that 

 what is good in the way of packing and pro- 



Xo. 5. — Tliis is a Ijettcr trailei' and cii-ts al out 



$150. It, will handle ea.sily at one load 50 colonies. 



or one ton of weight. For moving I.ees it is always 



lest to have a strongly built machine. 



tection in California during winter would 

 be equally good in the Eastern States for 

 bees taken out of cellars. 



Sacking Bees for Moving. 

 One night last week, H. H. Sweet, super- 

 intendent of The A. I. Koot Company of 



