90 



THE AMERICAN APICULTURIST. 



•'magazine" boxes (or Live) with 

 their accompan3-ing glass cover and 

 entrances and let the bees enter 

 their hives at once ; where the bees 

 are very strong, four boxes are 

 enough ; where not, three will suf- 

 fice. They should be removed on 

 the first night and placed upon 

 the new stands. If, however, the 

 swarm is in the straw skep and it 

 has been moved on the first night, 

 it should, upon being placed on 

 the new stand, be put upon a 

 white cloth and the magazine (or 

 hive) placed upon it and in front 

 of the straw skep ; a block of wood 

 should be placed between, then 

 knock the skep upon it so that the 

 bees will all drop upon the cloth 

 and they will enter the hive. 



REGARDING THE TRANSPORTATION 

 AND SHIPMENT OF BEES. 



In the transportation of bees one 

 has to be very careful that thej' do 

 not meet with any misfortune and 

 that they are always well supplied 

 with air. It is especially danger- 

 ous and requires a great deal of 

 care to ship them in summer. One 

 can only ^hip them at night during 

 that season, and if it is not pos- 

 sible to complete the journey in 

 one night they must be deposited 

 in a convenient place during the 

 (\a.y and the bees allowed to fly 

 and the journey continued on the 

 following night. If the colonies 

 are well built one can prepare an 

 affair for carrying them, such as the 

 salt carriers have and carry upon 

 their backs. Under the bottom of 

 the hives is stretched a cloth when 

 one can march away cautiously 



with the hive upon his back. One 

 should be careful that there are no 

 holes through which the bees can 

 escape and even then it is advisable 

 that he should be provided with a 

 bee cap and gloves which he can 

 use in case of necessity. I consider 

 it a hazardous undertaking to trans- 

 port bees upon a wagon no matter 

 how comfortably they are placed, 

 if only on account of the unavoid- 

 able jarring. If it is in the sum- 

 mer the bees become greatly ex- 

 cited and in winter the wax of 

 the combs being brittle breaks too 

 easil)^ so that one cannot insure 

 against the breaking down of the 

 combs during transit. When the 

 bees are in simple straw skeps 

 which are placed on their crown 

 (or bottom upward), it is somewhat 

 easier and more safe, but it is better 

 to carry them in the manner pre- 

 viousl}' described. 

 Rodheim, Germany, July 25,1783. 

 [To be continued.^ 



EDITORIAL. 



Some explanation is due our 

 many subscribers and readers for 

 regarding the delay in sending out 

 the present number of our journal, 

 and as during the past month we 

 have decided upon important 

 changes in relation to our business, 

 it may not be out of place to de- 

 vote this editorial to a brief review 

 of the past history of our journal 

 and a prospectus of our future 

 plans. 



Two 3'ears ago we issued the 



