June 15, 1911 



In others the prospects may be more favor- 

 able. Last year a locality within 20 miles 

 of this one had a two-inch rain in April, 

 while we had barely enough to lay the dust. 

 They got several extractings while we got 

 none. Several years previous it was just the 

 opi>osite. This shows how variable condi- 

 tions may be in California. 

 Ferris, Cal., May 23. 



A NZW WAY OF SCREENING ENTRANCES 

 FOR SHIPMENT. 



Preparation of Bees for. Moving Long Distances. 



BY WESLEY FOSTER. 



When one is preparing to move a carload 

 of colonies a thousand miles it is necessary 

 to have the bees locked uj) for two weeks at 

 least. If the weather is warm, the bees will 

 need abundant ventilation; and when one 

 loads a car ills not as well to have a screen 

 over the top of the hive, for the piling-up of 

 the hives and the shaking of the train in 

 motion will try the top screens unless some 

 one or two incli i)ieces are placed over each 

 tier of hives for the one above to rest on. 

 The method here described will save time, 

 protect the bees in all seasons of the year, 

 and the hives will pack into a car much 

 nicer than in any other way. 



When the screens are used over the whole 

 top of the hive, nailed on with lath, or fas- 

 tened in a frame, the bees are exposed to the 

 cold if there is any during the move. The 

 heat of the cluster will pass off just about as 

 fast as the bees can generate it. Now, we 

 use a piece of wire cloth, two feet long and 

 one foot wide, with a piece of lath a foot 

 long nailed across each end as shown in the 

 illustration. The lath at one end should be 

 nailed to the hive-body with three or four 

 good-sized shingle nails, the top end into 

 the cover with two nails, and the bottom 

 end into the bottom-board. The screen is 

 then passed around the front end of the 

 bottom-board antl tacked down with little 

 strips (>8 inch thick and Y2 inch wide is 

 large enough for these). The lath strip at 

 the other end of the screen is pulled up snug 

 at the other side of the hive, and nailed the 

 same as the first strip. There will be found 

 more screen at the top than at the bottom, 

 on account of the extension of the bottom- 

 board; but this extra is easily folded down, 

 some at each end, and tacked down with 

 another of the small strips, such as are used 

 at the bottom. Finally, two lath strii)s 

 nailed at each side of the back of the hive 

 securely fasten the cover, body, and bottom- 

 board firmly together the same as in front. 



This screened-in porch on the front of the 

 hive takes up no more room, for it does not 

 extend beyond the bottom-board extension 

 in front; and if the weather is cold the bees 

 stay inside; while if the car should be stall- 

 ed for several hours in a freight-yard, where 

 the sun beats down unmercifully at times, 

 even in our so-called winter months, the 

 bees come out on this porch and get air. 



371 



An auger-hole ^4 inch in diameter may be 

 bored a little above the entrance so the bees 

 may easily come and go should the entrance 

 become clogged with dead bees or dirt. A 

 dat tin or wood cover works best with this 

 arrangement, as the hives then pile up in 

 the car as nicely as square blocks of wood. 

 If gable or other uneven covers are used, 

 wood strips will have to be used, on which 

 to place the next tier above. If one has 

 tight inner covers the outside cover may be 

 removed, and the lath strips nailed into the 

 inner cover the same as the regular flat tin 

 or wood cover. 



This method will work in shipping bees 

 in less than carload lots short distances by 

 rail. In this case the bees are generally 



placed in a car that is being returned emp- 

 ty, and the hives are i)laced in one end, and 

 braced so they will not slitle around. 



My uncle, ( jliver Foster, has used this man- 

 ner of fixing bees for shipment, with the 

 greatest success, and I think he was the 

 originator of the idea. 



Boulder, Col. 



NUCLEUS HIVES FOR QUEEN-BREEDERS. 



The Standard Frame Preferred. 



BY D. E. BEST. 



In my experience I have used a good 

 many different-sized hives for getting my 

 queens fertilized. Twin mating-boxes with 

 small frames, or even good-sized nailing- 

 cages, are all right if the queens can be 

 taken out about as soon as they stop laying. 

 If this is not done the bees are very likely 

 to swarm out — I lost a good many valuable 

 queens in this way. After a good deal of 

 experimenting I finally decided that it did 

 not pay me to have a smaller nucleus than 

 two standard combs. The engraving repre- 

 sents my two sizes of hives, the first hold- 

 ing two nuclei, and the second five. The 

 entrances are ^-inch holes bored near the 

 bottom, with small i)ieces of tin pushed be- 

 tween the hive wall and the bottom-l^oard 

 for an alighting-board. .The sides and di- 

 visions in these hi\es are all the same 



