Oct. lo, 1911 



623 



MIGRATORY BEE-KEEPING IN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



Moving to the Sages. 



BY FRANK F. FRANCE. 



In order to develop one's ed- 

 ucation in the methods of bee- 

 keeping it is necessary to be- 

 come fully acquainted with the 

 ways of manipulation in differ- 

 ent sections of the country. 

 Having a good practical and 

 working education of the north- 

 ern ways of bee-keeping I de- 

 cided to plan a season's work 

 in Southern California, in the 

 region of Ventura, for some of 

 the most extensive bee-keepers 

 on the western coast are found 

 there. About the middle of 

 January, 1911, 1 started from the 

 cold and icy North, where the 

 temperature at that time was 

 about thirty below, and on my 

 journey across the continent, 

 and over the Sierra Nevada 

 Mountains, the snow was so 

 deep that it blocked the through 

 mail trains at different sections. 

 After leaving these mountains 

 I noticed a gradual change in 

 temperature, passing through the Green 

 Mountains and into the green vegetation of 

 California. Reaching the garden spot of all 

 California, the southern valley and coast 

 section, I did not wonder that the bee-keeper 

 had an ideal temperature and location for 

 his apiaries. 



Fig. 2.— A substantial screen for closing entrances of colonies 

 to be moved. 



Fig. 1.— Method of clamping loose hanging frames for moving. 



It was in January, about the 22d, that I 

 began my work in preparing bees, hives, 

 and fixtures for moving apiaries from the 

 coast to the sage belt in the mountains. In 

 making this preparation, all of the little de- 

 tails about the hives and moving appliances 

 must not be overlooked. The bottoms of all 

 hives are stapled or nailed on 

 solid, and the frames, if of the 

 California style, are clamped so 

 that there is no play whatev- 

 er. The manner of clamping 

 these frames is shown in Fig. 

 1. This clamp is made of 

 frame material, the toji of 

 which is the same thickness 

 as that of the bottom-bar, of 

 the common Langstroth frame, 

 ^^^ and the spurs about the same 

 ■■■I thickness as the side bar, 

 ^^H width y& inch. All hives not 

 H^H liaving this extra moving- 

 . ^^B clamp space above the frames 

 are clamped in the same way, 

 only the clamp has a tin top- 

 bar. The frames are held from 

 moving in this way, and theie 

 is no fear of breaking combs 

 from jamming together or of 

 killing any bees. All clamps 

 should be removed immediate- 

 ly after the bees are moved, or 

 they will be glued in so tight 

 that it would be impossible to 

 remove them without break- 

 ing. 



Colonies moved single story, 

 and not too strong, have an 

 entrance screen only. This 



