206 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



Apr. 1 



he can do in the yard, finds it pretty diffi- 

 cult to keep up his correspondence, even 

 though his intentions may be the very best. 

 All this time the weather in the locality 

 where the purchaser lives may be very fine, 

 so that this purchaser gets desperate too. 



In the instance above we do not know 

 that Mr. McMurray should be blamed en- 

 tirely for the dissatisfaction that arose. 

 However, there are one or two suggestions 

 that we should like to make that may serve 

 to prevent, to some extent, similar trouble 

 between other breeders and buyers of bees. 

 As publishers we are often appealed to in 

 cases like the above, and we have many 

 times served as the go-between or adjuster. 

 It is, of course, to the interest of the pub- 

 lishers as well as to the parties concerned 

 that all differences be adjusted as fairly as 

 possible, every thing being taken into con- 

 sideration. We certainly do not like to re- 

 fuse advertisements from reliable parties; 

 but, at the same time, we do not like to 

 continue the advertisements of dealers who 

 may not be giving satisfaction. It is for 

 this reason that we refer to the question 

 again, with the hope that we may bring 

 about a better understanding between our 

 advertisers and their customers. 



We wish to go on record as saying that 

 unwired combs are not fit for shipping. 

 They may go through all right, but there is 

 very great danger of breakage. We regard 

 the wiring of frames as a stitch in time, the 

 negligence of which is penny wise and pound 

 foolish, and the customer who orders bees 

 on unwired combs loses more than any one 

 else. 



Other things being equal, the combs 

 should contain no more honey than will be 

 needed by the bees on the journey; for the 

 heavier the combs, the more danger there 

 is of breakage, and the higher the charges 

 will be. In warm weather especially, when 

 the wax is soft, there is great danger of the 

 combs sinking or sagging out of the frames 

 if they are heavy with honey. The point is 

 this: The bees become excited, the tempera- 

 ture of the hive rises considerably, so that 

 there is very apt to be trouble. 



Any breeder is likely to err in judgment 

 as to the amount of honey needed by the 

 bees on the journey, for an unexpected de- 

 lay in shipment may mean the consump- 

 tion of all the stores, and consequent star- 

 vation. Rather more honey should be pro- 

 vided, therefore, than barely enough to last 

 the bees if every thing should go all right; 

 but, at the same time, if too much is allow- 

 ed in the combs, there is danger of the 

 breakage before mentioned. 



Old brood-combs that contain a good 

 many layers of cocoons are tougher and less 

 apt to break in the extractor, and they are 

 also less likely to break during shipment; 

 and, if possible, such combs should be se- 

 lected for bees that are to be shipped. Here 

 again, customer and shipper may differ. 

 The former wants lignt new combs, while 

 the experienced shipper knows that the old 

 combs are safe. 



We do not think that bees should ever be 

 shipped on partially drawn combs, especial- 

 ly those that are in unwired frames, for in 

 addition to the fact that such combs are 

 new and fragile, they are not firmly attach- 

 ed to the end-bars, and breakage is almost 

 certain. — Ed.] 



MIGRATORY* BEE-KEEPING. 



Shipping Nuclei from California. 

 BY G. C. MATTHEWS. 



It is quite a common thing for bee-keep- 

 ers in Utah to ship nuclei from points in 

 California in the spring; and, having en- 

 gaged in an enterprise of this kind last sum- 

 mer, I think a description of my experience 

 may be interesting. Usually, these ven- 

 tures turn out profitably unless accidents, 

 bad seasons, or bad management spoils the 

 work. 



We had 450 colonies of hybrid bees last 

 year, some in good condition, but all rather 

 short of stores for breeding purposes just be- 

 fore the orange bloom. I did not reach Cal- 

 ifornia until March 29; but we had a man 

 there before I arrived. Because teams were 

 hard to find, the bees were not all moved 

 until the orange bloom was ready to open. 

 That was error number one. 



My partner, who had shipped several 

 times, remained in Utah and left the mak- 

 ing of the nuclei to my management; but 

 because I was told to expect a six weeks' 

 honey-flow I made plans for too many nu- 

 clei. As it turned out, the flow lasted three 

 weeks, so we had to feed nearly 4000 lbs. of 

 honey and syrup to get enough stores for 

 shipment. Out of 1250 nuclei, over 100 

 queens failed to mate, and not sufficient 

 brood was reared to make the nuclei strong 

 upon arrival in Utah. 



The nuclei were made on six combs in 

 eight -frame and ten -frame single -story 

 hives, the empty space being left for a clus- 

 tering-place. Ihis plan would work if the 

 bees were young; if old, they need a cluster- 

 ing-place above the brood, because they 

 worry so much that they generate enough 

 heat to smother the brood. 



From two to four frames of brood were 

 put in each nucleus, and brood was after- 

 ward added or taken away to secure the 

 proper strength. Then, just before ship- 

 ment, my partner, who had gone to Califor- 

 nia, shifted the nuclei to get the flying bees 

 in with the weakest one; and as a result 

 some queens were killed. 



We closed the hives at the entrance with 

 lath, and put screens on top of the hives, 

 leaving no clustering-place above the bees. 

 But, first, cans for water were nailed to the 

 sides of the hives and filled with excelsior. 

 In these cans water was poured when the 

 nuclei were placed on the car. 



The season was a poor one for queen-rear- 

 ing because of the short quick flow of hon- 

 ey, and by taking away queens poor cells 

 were built by the bees. One should not 



