il2 



G li K A N I N ft S IN B E K C V T. T IT U K 



.rnr.v, 1921. 



pera -whore the oscape did not work, the 

 taking off escapes and eoveriug the hives, 

 and all the while circuniventing the robbers 

 will keep three persons going well and live- 

 ly. Now the truek must be conveniently 

 [daced, yet on solid ground, where there can 

 be no possible hitch in starting, as it is hard 

 to pile the load (juite bee-tight. The driver 

 mounts his truck, and the other two with a 

 good wheelbarrow hand up the supers, 

 bringing along the carbolized cloths. These 

 are again used on the piles on the truck. 



The Pettit Apiaries Ford ton truck with special rack 

 for hauling supers. This rack holds 100 empty 10- 

 frame extracting supers or 50 filled supers. Note 

 the gai-age built in the honey-house. Loads of honey 

 are taken inside away from the bees for unloading. 



Just as fast as the supers can be wheeled 

 and carried, they are piled on and kept cov- 

 ered. The rack sides are slipped into place 

 and keved at the corners so that ropes are 

 not necessary. It takes only a few minutes 

 to get loaded and away. Just after start- 

 ing one man riding behind removes all the 

 cloths so the bees can fly out and go home 

 as we drive slowly for the first mile. When 

 we start stripping one yard we never stop 

 until the supers are all off and away. Mak- 

 ing the little piles down the rows, instead 

 of piling them on the truck as they are re- 

 moved from the hives, prevents forming one 

 grand center of attraction for robbers 

 where the truck stands. Where convenient 

 we take two truck loads at a trip. The little 

 Ford will not carry many, but it often saves 

 an extra trip with the larger truck. 



Cleaning Combs After Extracting. 

 Having arrived home the loaded trucks 

 are both driven into the garage, which is one 

 room in the apiary building with a door 

 opening directly into the extracting-room. 

 As the wliole building is bee-tight, the loads 

 are immediately under cover, and need not 

 be taken off until morning if not conveni- 

 ent. After the supers of one yard are all 

 home, or sooner if we can arrange to set two 



men extracting wliile the trucking is still 

 going on, they are extracted to supply emp- 

 ties for the next yard. The next question is 

 to get these empties placed witliout exciting 

 robbing. We have them cleaned out before 

 taking them away. That is the only prac- 

 tical way which I know. I have trie(l the 

 various methods advocated for getting 

 combs cleaned out after they come from the 

 extractor, and have settled on one which I 

 do not think can be improved on. We have 

 over 100 colonies in the home yard. There 

 is a large back lot with no dwelling houses 

 near it. Just at dusk, when very few bees 

 are flying, the supers are wheeled out into 

 this lot and piled loosely about, with the 

 combs carefully spaced, so that none touches 

 another or a super side. Next morning the 

 bees do the rest. There is not the slightest 

 tendency to start robbing in the apiary, and 

 it does not spread foul brood. But there 

 are certain precautions. We never put out 

 fewer than 100 supers at once . That satis- 

 fies all their robbing instinct, and when the 

 combs are cleaned they are ready to call it 

 a day and quit. We examine all our brood- 

 chambers thoroly several times in the sea- 

 son, attending to the few cases of disease, 

 and, of course, their supers never figure in 

 an aft'air of this kind. I have jiructiced 

 this method as long as I have been a bee- 

 keeper, and that is almost long enough for 

 me to begin to brag about how many years 

 it is, yet I do not know of any cases of dis- 

 ease in the home yards where all the clean- 

 ing is done. As a matter of fact, I fear that 

 not much of this honey gets stored. I am 

 sure that a great deal is wasted. On that 

 account we run them fast and long in the 

 extractor. If the combs get a shower while 

 they are out, so much the better. Sometimes 

 we turn the hose on them to thin the honey, 



Not the Thn 



Mrrs, but the tln-( 



Pettit Apiaiie.s. 



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and the bees clean them much better and 

 with less soiling. After that they are ready 

 for anything. They may be taken to an 

 apiary in robbing time without causing any 

 excitement, and that is worth a great deal. 

 While' it is still hot in August and early 

 September we take back to the hives 

 enough supers to prevent clustering out, and 

 tho no suri)lus may be expected it is usual 



