■iaiJ 



Gleanings in bee culture 



July, 1922 



have arrived home. The reason is that 

 there is less nectar in the hives at such a 

 time. 



Preparation of Colonies for Moving. 



Upon preparing a liive for moving, much 

 depends on the distance it must travel, the 

 strength of the colony, the season of the 

 year and the manner in which it is con- 

 veyed. Every colony that undergoes trans- 

 portation should have at least three pounds 

 of honey for short distances, and 10 to 15 

 pounds for the longer distances. This honey 

 should be so distributed that each frame 

 does not contain more than two pounds, if 

 possible. If it contains more, the likeli- 

 hood of virgin comb, especially, breaking 

 loose from the frame, on account of the 

 constant jarring, is exceedingly great. 

 Frames, well filled with old comb built on 

 wired foundation, well clamped or other- 

 wise fastened, with no more than three 

 pounds of honey, can stand an unusually 

 large amount of rough handling. There are 

 several ways in which the frames may be 

 lield securely in the hive. When the Hoff- 

 man self-spacing frame is used there is no 

 shifting of frames possible, but other styles 

 of frames need something to hold them in 

 place. In cases of this kind, a strip of 

 wood with a series of teeth fastened upon 

 it, somewhat similar to a hay rake, is pushed 

 down between the frames one at each end 

 of the hive. The teeth fit between the 

 frames fastening them all securely. 



Tlie kind of hive used is important, but 

 of still more importance is the condition of 

 the hive when being shipped. This, of 

 course, applies to the covers and bottom- 

 boards as well. These should not only be 

 strong and fit tightly to the hive or screen, 

 but also so constructed that they can be 

 piled one upon the other without any dan- 

 ger of working loose, or being broken. Mi- 

 gratory beekeepers should have their bot- 

 tom-boards nailed fast to the hive. 



Bees moved in the winter, or when the 

 colonies are not very populous and it is 

 quite cool, do not need a screen over either 

 the top or bottom of the hive for ventila- 

 tion; but the cover is nailed on, the hive- 

 bodies are cleated and a V-shaped strip of 

 wire screen is pushed into the entrance. 



On moving strong colonies during warm 

 weather, deep top screens must be used, 

 and if the colonies are very populous, and 

 the distance fairly great, it would be wiser 

 to move without some of the flight bees. 

 This may be accomplished by moving rather 

 late in the afternoon while some of the 

 bees are still in the fields. In such a pro- 

 cedure, a few weak colonies may be left in 

 the yard in order to pick up the homeless 

 bees. The danger from "melt downs" in 

 warm- weather is so great that it has been 

 found expedient to sacrifice a few thousand 

 of the older bees when moving under such 

 conditions. It should also be remembered 

 that Italians are less excitable than black 

 bees, and consequently undergo a journey 

 much better. 



Ample super room with deep screens af- 

 ford clustering space for the bees away 

 from the brood and honey and help greatly 

 towards preventing suffocation. Of equal 

 importance in this respect is proper venti- 

 lation. When bees are on the move there 

 is usually a good circulation of air about 

 the hives, but when they become stationary 

 and are exposed unavoidably to the sun, 

 there is very great danger ef losing them. 

 At such times dousing with cold water 

 does not seem to help. If the bees begin 

 to "sweat" they should be released at 

 once. We give water only when we want 

 to save the unsealed brood in the hive, and 

 this is always done in the morning, when, 

 under normal conditions, the water-gather- 

 ing bees leave the hive for that purpose. 



Big Sur, Calif. 



PIONEER BEEKEEPING 



P. H. El-wood Had a Large Fart m 

 Development of Self-spacing Fiames, 

 Sol'ving the S-warming Probierri, Etc. 



By E. R. Root 



ON May 10, 

 1922, or a 

 few weeks 

 after his 75tJ) 

 birthday, one of 

 the pioneer lead- 

 ers in beekeep- 

 ing in the State 

 of New York, if 

 not in the Avhole 

 United States, passed awav. I refer to P. 

 H. Klwood of Starkville, N. Y. While Mr. 

 Elwood did not belong to the earlier class 

 of pioneers, such as Langstroth, Quinby, 

 Gallup, Wagner and Dzierzon, he Avas near- 

 ly contemporary with them. When he was 

 a 3'oung man, at the early age of 23, he 

 was able to build on where they left off. 

 In 1870 he went into partnership with Capt. 

 J. E. Hetherington, one of the most exten- 



sive honey-pro- 

 ducers, then 

 known in the 

 w o r 1 d. F i V e 

 years later he 

 went into busi- 

 ness for himself, 

 and continued 

 one of the larg- 

 est producers of 

 honey in the United States, operating over 

 1000 colonies for many years. Mr. Hether- 

 ington, his former partner, was brilliant, 

 scintillating, a man full of ideas, and very 

 much ahead of his time. Mr. Elwood, like- 

 wise, very much ahead of his time, was the 

 opposite in some respects, in that he was 

 conservative, cautious, and when he did 

 adopt a new idea it was only after it had 

 been shown in a small way to have value. 



