19<).- 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



185 



prepared for winter and the little hive 

 stored away for the next season. All 

 these fixings are plain and simple, and 

 any one possessin.u- a little ingenuity 

 can easily make tliom: try it at least, 

 it will repay yon an luindred fold. 

 Englewood, N. J. 



Oaimito, Cuba. ,lnne 20. 1903. 



Editor Bee-Keeper: 



Seeing so nmch in The Bee-Keeper 

 of •"I'at" and Cabanas, his cork method 

 of moving, etc., has induced me to add 

 a few lines to the subject. Mr. "Pat" 

 is no longer at his old. or first location 

 — has moved, once since landing in 

 Cuba and is now moving again, just 

 shoves in the corks and is off in a hur- 

 ry. It is so easy for him to get ready 

 to move. But I must tell on Pat's 

 corker method. It caught him down 

 here as well as myself. Pat lost 60 

 of his best colonies on a two-league 

 move. It was too hot for him. 



I, too, have tried corks, as I bought 

 the bees of Mr. Ellis that Pat brought 

 over for the hone.v that they would 

 gather in the winter. Mr. Ellis going 

 back to California. 



There was fifty colonies of the bees 

 and they in fine condition, so after 

 tacking screen over the tops of hive 

 bodies in place of covers, I was ready 

 to stick the corks in some of them, 

 as the entrances were still closed and 

 have been since leaving Florida, ex- 

 cept the cork hole, one inch in diame- 

 ter, and just above the real entrance 

 in center of hive. This cork hole of 

 one inch having served full colonies 

 for an entrance for months. 



Where the beauty of the cork sys- 

 tem came in, was at the wharf, as 

 the boatman that came for the bees 

 brought one, instead of two little boats 

 as he had contracted to do. Pat could 

 onl.v load forty instead of the fifty 

 colonies. Well, when the forty were 

 loaded and boat pushed oft", then the 

 corks were pulled in a moment and all 

 humming a happy tune, and off to 

 work until the boat could return for 

 the ten remaining. The corks were 

 saved for the return of the boat. 



Pat finds moving so "dead easy'' 

 with his cork method, that he just 

 keeps moving; is moving now from 

 where he landed less than a month 

 ago. The mangrove move has paid 

 him, too, as he has taken 300 pound."? 

 of honey this week, while others less 

 migratory are feeding. 



The mangrove honey here is amber, 

 not at all white as I had supposed, by 

 what I had seen in the journals con- 

 cerning it. 



Bees generally doing better this 

 spring than common, but foul-brood 

 booming. 



Yours truly, 



W. W. Sommerford. 



Sagua la Grande, Cuoa, June 16, '03. 



Editor Bee-Keeper : 



I have seen a picture of your apiary 

 in the American Bee-Keeper and no- 

 tice there is no shade for the hives. 

 Mine are in the same condition here, 

 and I would be obliged if you will let 

 me know whether this condition Is 

 not injurious to the bees. 



Very truly j^ours, 



J. E. Larrondo. 



During the summer months shade of 

 some sort should be provided for hives. 

 If our correspondent will refer again 

 to the illustration in our April issue, 

 he may note that the flat lids used 

 in the apiary there shown, do not rest 

 directly upon the hive; but instead, 

 upon cleats above the honey-board, 

 thus allowing the free passage 5f air 

 under the cover, and affording perfect 

 shade on top of the hive. In addition 

 to the cooling eft'ect of this arrange- 

 ment, during hot weather, the honey- 

 boards are slipped endwise far enough 

 to leave an opening about one-eighth 



of an inch clear across the back end 

 of the hive, which is sheltered from 

 storm by the heavy cleat of the flat 

 lid. Thus, a current of air from en- 



