656 AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Cisco. Doolittle's — and here allow me to digress to say that the general " get up" 

 of his cage bore the stamp of the " bee-master " in every detail — were sent in a cage 

 made, I think, of basswood ; and his queen reached New Zealand alive only four 

 days from her future home, and there succumbed under manipulation. 



In nearly every case the candy remaining in the cages tasted quite strongly of 

 the turpentine from the pine — suflBcient, when taken with every mouthful of food, 

 to place the poor creatures beyond the power of medical skill. 



I have arranged with a friend now residing in the Sandwich Islands, to receive 

 for me 32 queens ordered from American breeders. On arrival there he will remove 

 the wood cover, place the cages wire-cloth downwards over his colonies, and place a 

 half super over them ; and so let them remain until the departure of the next mail. 

 It would be well to cage the queen in the hive during the time these cages were on 

 top. He will then turn the covers, and re-address to me. 



Another plan I intend to try if the foregoing fails, is this : I shall arrange with 

 Mr. Doolittle for one of his nine-frame hives to be fitted up with half a dozen one- 

 pound sections in each of the two end-frames, or end but one, each section to con- 

 tain one queen and a few bees, covered on each side by wire-cloth. One queen to 

 be placed in the body of the hive, too. A flat vessel with a sponge stopper at the 

 bottom, and a funnel mouth protruding could be filled once a week say, and the 

 whole parcel could be sent by steamer from San Francisco or Vancouver. I think a 

 number of queens, in this way, would come all right, if simply caged among the bees 

 of the hive. 



The chief desiderata in mailing queens successfully are good — not necessarily 

 "Good" — candy, made from pure powdered — not confectioners' — sugar and honey, 

 of the proper consistency, plenty ventilation, few bees (10 or 12, say), and above 

 all wax the inside of the receptacle for the candy. Under these conditions queens 

 should go safely a journey of 14 to 21 days. Beyond that time the proceeding is at 

 present problematical. 



A discussion on these points would be very interesting to breeders on both sides 

 of the water, and would fit in well during your approaching inactive season. 



Largs, N. S. W., Australia, Sept. 1. 



HITHS FOR TVINXERIISG BHHS, ETC. 



BY E. S. LOVE8Y. 



As usual, at this time of the year, we have considerable agitation on the ques- 

 tion of wintering bees, and many theories are advanced. Some think that a large 

 hive is the best, others think that there is less space to keep warm, and thus they 

 will do better in a small hive. My experience is, that the size or style of hive cuts 

 little or no figure. Bee-keepers can, and do, cover up their bees and shut off all 

 ventilation, and thus smother them in all sizes and kinds of hives. 



Protection is good, but the bees must be kept dry, and it is impossible to keep 

 them dry without ventilation. They will often stand much cold if they are not kept 

 in a damp condition. I heard of two hives of bees that were knocked over by stock, 

 and they lay on their side all winter, with the wind blowing through the hives, and 

 the bees came out in the spring all right, while others near by, that were covered 

 up closely, died through dampness. 



I would recommend J. S. Scott's method as published on pages 474 of the 

 "American Bee Journal." He has been very successful both in wintering and in 

 obtaining profitable returns from his bees. He uses the 8-frame Langstroth hive. 



