322 SHIPPING AND TRANSPORTING BEES. 



take advantage of the different crops of honey at different 

 points. 



It would even appear that the Greeks in the time of Colu- 

 mella transported their hives to Egj^pt by sea, "The season 

 of blossoms being later than in Greece; for after the month 

 of September there is no pasture in Achaia for bees, whilst 

 in Egypt flowers are in full bloom even after that time, 

 owing to the receding of the high waters of the Nile." He 

 relates a laughable story about one of these floating apiaries. 

 One hive having been upset by accident on a boat, the enraged 

 bees attacked the mariners unexpectedly, and forced them to 

 jump into the river and swim to the shore, which likeh', was 

 not far distant, nor did they dare return, until they had pro- 

 vided themselves with a supply of smoke-producing ingredi- 

 ents. 



592. There is a certain amount of fascinating romance 

 connected with the idea of a floating apiaiy, following the 

 blossoms, on the waters of the great Mississippi, or of some 

 of its tributaries. An attempt of this sort was made on a 

 large scale, years ago, bj^ a Chicago firm. It was a total 

 failure, but we are inclined to thmk that the failure was due 

 to the lack of practical knowledge in bee-keeping, on the 

 part of the managers, rather than to any other cause. 



593. Transportation of bees from a location where blos- 

 soms are scarce to a good field, and retuiTiing them after 

 the crop, is sometimes attended with fair success. Some Apia- 

 rists, located in places where the June crop alone can be 

 depended upon, make it a practice to transport their hives 

 to Fall pasturage evei-j^ Summer. We, ourselves, have taken 

 120 hives of bees, about eighteen miles, to the Mississippi 

 river bottoms, in August, 1880, when the drouth had destroyed 

 all hopes of a Fall harvest on the hills. The high waters of 

 the Mississippi, which had receded a few weeks before, had 

 left those immense bottom lands covered with a luxuriant 

 vegetation. The result fulh' answered our anticipations. 

 Those lately starving colonies, yielded a bountiful surplus, 



