142 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



March, 1920 



sell me bees in two-pound packages. ' ' No 

 doubt many would-be purchasers will fail in 

 1920 for the same reason that Dr. Baxter 

 failed in 1918. He did not start soon 

 enough. I bought 54 two-pound packages in 

 1918 for myself and a neighbor, and the only 

 reason I could not buy more was shortage of 



A few colonies made from two-pound packages that 



averaged 60 pounds of surplus without the addition 



of brood to aid them in building up. 



the wherewithal at this end of the line. 

 But I placed the orders early in February, 

 and this year I got into action about the 

 first of January. The breeders are booking 

 orders from about the first of December, and 

 when they have booked all they can fill 

 they naturally have to turn down the late 

 comers. So, if you want any bees from the 

 South this spring, you cannot get your or- 

 der in too quickly. 



Even if I were allowed to do so, it would 

 not be fair to many reliable advertisers, 

 with whom I have had no dealings, to sug- 

 gest responsible parties from whom you 

 might order. However, I know from ex- 

 perience that it does not pay to buy from 

 the man who advertises the lowest prices. 

 Deal with a man who has been in the busi- 

 ness for a number of years and who has a 

 reputation to sustain, and you are likely to 

 be well served and satisfied in the end. 

 Have your order booked for delivery at a 

 specified time, and if the order is placed 

 early you may reasonably expect to get the 

 bees near the time mentioned. Do not be 

 afraid to have them come early. They will 

 stand the trip better in cool weather than 

 in warm. Last spring my bees arrived the 

 eighteenth of April. The order was booked 

 for the tenth; but bad weather often gets 

 the shipper a little behifidj f(,nd dq beeman 



should complain of service as prompt as this. 



Don't expect to buy bees at 1918 prices. 

 My two-pound packages with queens cost 

 me $5.75 by parcel post last spring. I ex- 

 pect to pay $7.00 this year, and do not con- 

 sider them beyond the probability of a good 

 investment at that. 



As to manner of handling, have your hives 

 in position before the bees arrive. I prefer 

 to have two combs each about half-full of 

 honey for each hive. Paint or sprinkle the 

 screen of the cage with syrup. Open the 

 cage and take out the little cage containing 

 the queen. She should have been clipped by 

 the shipper; if not, clip her and put her on 

 a frame of honey with a few bees in at- 

 tendance. If the weather is warm, shake 

 the rest of the bees at the entrance and lay 

 the cage, with the few adhering bees, 

 against the front of the hive with its open- 

 ing near the entrance. The bees will do the 

 rest. 



If the weather is cold place the cage in 

 a vacancy made by removing frames of 

 foundation from the hive, with the opening 

 of the cage up in such a position that the 

 bees can crawl directly on to the frame 

 containing the honey and the queen. When 

 the bees have all left the cage (which they 

 will usually do overnight), contract the 

 brood-chamber to three frames, by using a 

 close-fitting division-board, and enlarge the 

 brood-chamber gradually as the weather 

 warms up and the bees require more room. 



In 1917 I helped a neighbor hive 30 two- 

 pound packages on foundation alone, and, 

 altho the bees arrived in a snow storm and 



.Showing a corner of Mr. Banta's apiary with wind 

 break in the rear, to the iiortli. 



neither of us had had any experience witli 

 package bees, we got them in the hives and 

 fed them syrup till sufficient nectar was 



