AlGlST. loin 



G I. F. A X I N G S IN B E F U L T tJ R F 



509 



FROM THE FIELD OF EXPERIENCE 



but the farmer is usually tOo busy to apply it. 

 Utali beekeepers are also iuclined to be 

 careless about grading and packing. When 

 I first came to the State, eight years ago, I 

 wrote to a buyer in Kansas City and told 

 him I had a carload of comb honey. The 

 dealer on seeing the postmark said, 

 'You Utahans don't know how to grade 

 honey' and paid no attention to me. 1 

 heard about it and asked him to send a 

 man out to watch me. He did without my 

 knowing it and I managed to satisfy him. ' ' 



While Mr. Gill w'as initiating me into the 

 mysteries of bee culture we were walking 

 in his apiary. As long as I kept from swear- 

 ing and gesticulating the bees did not sting- 

 roe, and I ate peaches and plums while 

 taking notes; for the colonies are scat- 

 tered about an orchard protected on the 

 east by a windbreak of box elder. Thus 

 Mr. Gill has bees for a main source of in- 

 come and takes a yearly flyer in fruit. (He 

 pointed to one Flemish Beauty pear tree 

 that had paid all of his taxes except six 

 dollars.) There is no doubt that the honey 

 I^roduct in this State could be indefinite- 

 ly increased. Frank E. Arnold. 



Logan, Utah. 



MOVING BEES BY FREIGHT 



Loading on Cattle Car and Care cf Bees During 

 Trip 



Recently we moved 184 colonies of bees 

 from Copemish to Flint, Mich., a distance 

 of about 200 miles — you might say between 

 two honey flows, as the pin cherries, which 

 get the bees to brooding nicely, had just 



about finished blooming, and the alsike was 

 just commencing, when we arrived in Flint. 



As I had moved bees by freight before, 

 Mr. Griggs invited me to go with him. On 

 the morning of the 5th we drove six miles 

 out to the bees and worked from about 8 

 in the morning till 4:30 p. m., the following 

 morning equalizing brood and stapling a full 

 set of extracting-combs above each colony, 

 after which each bottom-board was fastened 

 with four two-inch hive-staples, and a frame 

 IVi inches high covered with wire screen 

 was nailed over the top. 



Then began the task of hauling six miles 

 to the car, and loading. For shipment we 

 had a cattle-car and loaded the hives with 

 frames lengthwise of the car, two rows on 

 each side of the car, and three double-story 

 colonies high, j^lacing above the first and 

 second rows two 2x4 scantling lengthwise 

 of the rows. These were then fastened by 

 placing a 2 X 4 piece against each row and 

 an upright piece at each end in the middle, 

 fastened to the top and floor of the car 

 with cleats and spikes. This left an alley 

 thru the car, at each end of which Mr. 

 Griggs and the writer had a bed of straw 

 where we slept for two nights among the 

 bees. During the night a bee would occa- 

 sionally crawl over us, and in moving we 

 would be stung. Then we would turn on our 

 pocket searchlight, pick out the sting, and 

 roll over and go to sleep again. 



For the bees we carried a barrel of water 

 which we sprinkled on the tops of the 

 screens. Another time we would find it con- 

 venient to have with us a hand spray-pump 

 to water the bees more effectively. We 

 would also more securely fasten any loose 



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