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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Sept. 15 



Bees may fly out when the weather 

 warms up in midwinter, and on a sudden 

 drop in temperature chill and lie on the 

 ground for days, and when a warming sun 

 comes out they will revive and go back into 

 their hives. See page 95, Feb. 15, for this 

 year. 



The experiments conducted by H. R. Board- 

 man, as reported in our issue for May lo, p. 

 303, of current volume, are interesting in 

 this connection. We hope our practical and 

 scientific men will work out this problem, 

 because it has a bearing on the general sub- 

 ject of wintering. That the bee is a semi- 

 hibernator, capable of remaining in a chilled 

 condition for some days without food, and 

 revive when warmed, is now clearly proved; 

 but it is not a true hibernator. On this whole 

 question there is a new and comparatively 

 unexplored field, and it is time we were 

 knowing something more about it. — Ed.] 



SHIPPING BEES IN CARLOAD LOTS 

 WITHOUT LOSS. 



The Importance of Wedging all the Hives 

 Tightly to Prevent them from Shak- 

 ing around Inside of the Car. 



BY H. F. HART. 



On page 260, May 1, the editor asks for the 

 experiences from those who have shipped 

 bees in carload lots. I have shipped two 

 cars in the last two years without the loss of 

 a colony, and with hardly a bee flying. I do 

 not use box cars, however, for I believe cat- 

 tle-cars are more suitable. 



The first car was shipped in December, 

 1907, when the temperature was about 40 de- 

 grees. In this car I had wire cloth only over 

 the entrances. The other car was shipped 

 in February, 1909, when the temperature 

 ranged from 50 to 65; and in this car we had 

 the tops of the hives also covered with wire 

 cloth. I do not find it necessary to spray 

 water over the wire cloth. 



The principal thing to be careful about is 

 to brace every thing firmly to prevent the 

 hives from shaking around, and this can be 

 easily done in cattle-cars. The hives are 

 placed with the combs parallel to the rails in 

 a row across the car. In front of the row a 

 Ix 3-inch strip of furring is nailed to the 

 slatted sides of the car in such a manner that 

 the edge touches the fronts of the hives. 

 This will leave a 3-inch space between every 

 two rows of hives. Two more pieces of the 

 lX3-in. strips are then tacked on the tops of 

 the hives, making a support for the next tier 

 above, which tier is also braced in front of ev- 

 ery row as was the lower one By this plan 

 two or even three tiers may be put in if nec- 

 essary to get all the hives in the car. When 

 the first two or three tiers of one row each are 

 placed and properly braced, the next tiers al- 

 so of one row each are put in front and brac- 

 ed in the same way until the car is filled from 

 both ends toward the center, leaving a space 

 opposite the doors. If supplies are sent they 



may be loaded in this space, and properly 

 wedged so that nothing can get loose. If no 

 supplies are included, cross-pieces should 

 extend from the two lots of hives in such a 

 rnanner that there can be no possibility of in- 

 dividual movement of the hives. In this way 

 two or three hundred colonies can be pack- 

 ed in a car and shipped without loss. 



My first car, owing to a wreck, stood on a 

 side track for three days, and was six days 

 on the road all together. In spite of this, there 

 were almost no dead bees to be found. 



The second car contained poor hives, with 

 the bottom-boards so rotten that, when the 

 colonies were transferred later into new 

 hives, many of the old bottom-boards fell to 

 pieces. However, there were not a dozen 

 bees flying when the car reached its desti- 

 nation, and there were practically no dead 

 bees in the hives resulting from the confine- 

 ment. No attendant accompanied either car. 



Allenville, Ala. 



[When bees are shipped during the winter 

 months, it is not necessary, of course, to 

 spray water over the tops of the frames. 

 When shipped in hot or even warm weather, 

 especially if in a box car, the wire-cloth 

 screens should be sprayed often. — Ed.] 



LACK OF VENTILATION CAUSES THE 

 WATERY CAPPINGS. 



Some Good Proof in Support of the Con- 

 tention of Mr. Whitney, as Given 

 on Page 362, June 15. 



BY J. P. CALDWELL. 



This question of greasy or watery sections 

 is one in which all should by greatly interest- 

 ed; for if we have been condemning our best 

 queens without a cause we should at once 

 call a halt. That Mr. Whitney is right in this 

 matter is very clear to me. The cause of 

 these watery cappings has been puzzling me 

 for years. I have never believed that the 

 progeny of some queens capped comb honey 

 as though it had received a coat of varnish, 

 while other bees of the same breed did not. 

 That it is a lack of proper ventilation has 

 been my belief. I have found such honey 

 only in very populous colonies. I have no- 

 ticed a great many times in cavities in rocks 

 when small zigzag openings entered the 

 abode of the wild bees, the comb honey taken 

 from these cavities looked as if it had been 

 treated to more than one coat of varnish. 

 But honey taken from a large crack in the 

 rock shows no sign of the watery cappings, 

 the new combs being capped beautifully. 



I have raised section honey by the ton, and 

 have been an observer of these watery cap- 

 pings for thirty years, and I have concluded 

 that, with proper ventilation, there will be 

 few if any of these greasy sections found. 



I once had a very prolific Cyprian queen 

 which kept a ten-frame Simplicity hive filled 

 to overflowing with bees. At that time I used 

 seven wide frames holding eight one-pound 

 sections each, and with this large hive I was 



