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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



I have had some experience in moving 

 bees, and will describe it as follows : 



I use the 10-frame Siraplicity-Lang- 

 stroth hive, with the common hanging 

 frames wired with three horizontal No. 

 30 wires, and fixed bottom-board, but 

 when I moved my bees it was a necessity, 

 and I liked them so much that I have 

 had them ever since. 



For spacing the frames at the bottom, 

 I use one inch wire staples, such as are 

 used in putting up wire fence, made of 

 uniform width, and driven into the bot- 

 tom-board across the center of the hive, 

 turning those on the outside of the 

 frames diagonally, so as to make the 

 required space. I have no bee-space on 

 top of the frames, but make the frames 

 flush with the top of the hive. For a 

 quilt over the frames, I use heavy brown 

 domestic. 



To pack bees for shipment, I take two 

 pieces of board, 8x20 inches, 3^ inch 

 thick ; a piece of wire cloth, a tack ham- 

 mer, some carpet tacks, and some 114 

 inch wire nails. 



When the bees are all in the hive, 

 tack the wire-cloth over the entrance, 

 take off the hive-cover, and nail the two 

 boards down on top of the hve. Hold ! 

 how are you going to ventilate ? Well, 

 we are just beginning the work, and 

 have not reached ventilation yet. I want 

 the boards to fit down on the frames at 

 both ends and in the middle. 



Our bees, packed as above, were put 

 upon wagons, hauled six miles, and put 

 into a box car, with our household goods. 

 The hives were placed upon the floor 

 lengthwise of the car, one tier upon the 

 other, without any bracing or fastening 

 down. 



On Nov. 18, 1890, we started on our 

 journey of 800 miles, and arrived here 

 six days later with the bees (21 colonies) 

 all right, except two broken combs — 

 they were not wired. The temperature 

 in the car was kept most of the time 

 near 5(P, Fahr. The bees came out all 

 right in the Spring, and did well last 

 year. 



Bessemer, Ala., Feb. 15, 1892. 



Placing Hives In ttie Anlary, Etc. 



I. E. MYERS. 



I drive four stakes in the ground, 

 making a scjuare of -50x3(5 in(;hes, and 

 18 inches higli, to which I nail two 

 pieces of board 4 fcot long, the 8n-inch 

 way. Next I lay a spirit-level on the 

 edge of the boards, and drive down the 



post so that the cross board are in per- 

 fect level from one end to the other, and 

 across the 30-inch way from one board 

 to the other. On this board stand I 

 place the bottom-boards of two hives, on 

 one of which I put a colony of bees, and 

 on the other an empty hive. 



I clip the wings of ray queens in the 

 Spring, so when they swarm, I cage the 

 queen and exchange the hive from one 

 bottom-board to the other, while the 

 bees are in the air, and place the cage 

 on the bottom-board in front of the 

 empty hive, which is now on the bottom- 

 board that the bees are acquainted with; 

 and finding their queen there, the bees 

 go in readily. 



NUMBERING HIVES. 



My experience has led me to number 

 the queen and not the colony. In this 

 way I follow her wherever she swarms 

 in the apiary, without keeping note of it 

 in the register. I have a board 3^x3x6 

 inches, which is hung by a nail driven 

 on the back of the hive outside, with the 

 number of the queen on one side of the 

 small board, and on the other side I keep 

 the record of the facts as they take 

 place. 



For instance : Queen No. 12. Prog- 

 eny of No. 9. July 20, 1890. Black 

 (pure). Wing clipped April 20. Very 

 weak colony. May 13, good layer. June 

 18, good colony^ working in the super. 

 July 17 took off 18 pounds of honey. 

 Aug. 11, took off 56 pounds of honey. 

 Nov. 17, placed in winter quarters, 

 weighing 60 pounds. 



With this record, I am able at leisure 

 to go around with my recording book, 

 write in it any one of these facts that I 

 want to refer to later on, and to keep 

 my apiary account for profit and loss. 

 This board follows the queen fi'om one 

 hive to another. 



DOUBI.E BOTTOM-BOARDS FOR HIVES. 



I wish to say something about my 

 twin bottom-boards. My hives are 

 made after the Langstroth pattern, ex- 

 cept that the entrance is in the bottom- 

 board, and not cut out of the side of the 

 body. The bottom is half inch, raised 

 above the alighting-board. I cut out of 

 this half inch, 10 inches along the edge 

 next to the alighting-board, and back 

 134 inclnvs from the alighting-board, so 

 as to give room for the bees to pass un- 

 der the lower edge of the body of the 

 hive. This prevents the wind from 

 blowing rainwater in under the brood- 

 nest. All the body parts of my hives 

 can be used for two-slory or single- 



