GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



April, 1919 



California at Los Ange'es, asked me if I 

 would uot like to go out with liim and move 

 some bees after dark. Night is the worst 

 of all bad times to handle bees. Mr. Sweet 

 said that it would be necessary to take off 

 the upper stories or supers and crowd the 

 bees down to one story. ' ' Do this after 

 dark?" I asked. "Yes,"" he replied. "All 

 right, I am game if you are," I said. 



We had to drive about 17 miles. He hitch- 

 ed his Ford to a two-wheeled trailer which 

 is better for a Ford than a four-wheel. No 

 provision was made for any hive screens or 

 entrance-closers. When he told me that 

 the hives were very old and full of cracks, 

 I remarked that we would have a mess on 

 our hands. Pointing to a pile of burlap 

 sacks, he said, ' ' I am going to put them in 

 those sacks." I had read of this trick, but 

 was never present when bees were put up in 

 that way. 



"Those wire wheels — will they stand up 

 under a load of 20 colonies and equip- 

 ment?" I asked. "They are guaranteed 

 to, ' ' said Sweet. ' ' Maybe so, " I said. 



On arriving at the yard, we took off the 

 supers, after smoking the bees at the en- 



No. 5. — The tiling that changed the sweetneiSS of 

 Superintendent Sweet's face to sour. What he 

 lliniif/hf. he said afterwards, wouldn't pass muster 

 with A. I., not even with M.-xV.-O. Incidentally it 

 may be obsea'ved that wire wheels are dangerous 

 where heavy loads are used or fast driving is a 

 pastime. The photograph tells its own story. If 

 there is anything that is exasperating, it is to have 

 a load break down along about midnight when mov- 

 ing bees. 



trance. They came out aU right and in 

 sonte instances met us more than half way, 

 even tho it was dark. My! how they did 

 sting! After we had gotten the supers off 

 and shaken the bees in front of the en- 

 trance, the next problem was to get them 

 in the hives. A little smoking and coaxing 

 (and some more stings) got them in. Mr. 

 Sweet then went at the job of "sacking 

 the bees. ' ' With a sack in one hand, he tip- 

 ped a hive at an angle of 45 degrees, en- 

 trance up, and with the other slipped the 

 sack over it as far as he could, then he set 

 the hive down, jJulled the sack back over, 

 and tied the mouth with a heavy string. It 

 was done in almost the time it takPf t9 tell 



Above is shown stage by stage Supt. Sweet's method 

 of sacking bees for moving. The exact mode of 

 procedure is shown in the order of the ijictures, read- 

 ing from above down. Where the hives are old, 

 especially if they are full of cracks, or the cover 

 does not fit tightly, this plan of moving bees is ideal. 

 Even if the hives are good, it is probably cheaper 

 than the entrance-closer and a hive screen over the 

 top. To sack a colony is a matter of seconds only, 



