1906 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



829 



[I do not think that Mr. Coggshall meant 

 to imply that southern- reared queens were 

 not as good as those reared in the North; at 

 all events, we have never been able here at 

 Medina to detect any difference in vigor of 

 the stock or its longevity, and we have had 

 abundant opportunity for observation.— Ed.] 



HOW TO PREPARE HIVES FOR MOVING BY 

 THE CARLOAD. 



Mr. J?oot-— Thinking that the Root Co. 

 has had more experience in shipping bees by 

 the carload than anybody else in the North, 

 I should like to ask a few questions about 

 such work. I have moved whole apiaries 

 with a team, but never by rail. 



1. Can bees be shipped on loose hanging 

 frames, combs built without wire, the most 

 of them old and tough? 



2. Had I better place a notched stick in 

 the bottom of the hives to prevent the 

 frames from swinging about? or would nail- 

 ing the top-bars be sufficient? 



3. About how many chaff hives will a car 

 hold? 



4. What kind of car would you prefer— 

 box or stock? 



5. Bees are supposed to have the chaff 

 cushions on at the time mentioned. Would 

 it be safe to lay the wire screen down fiat 

 on the top-bars, or should there be a nar- 

 row rim placed on, and the wire screen on 

 the rim? 



6. How would it do to change them into 

 single-walled hives and place a piece of thin 

 section between the hive-body and the lid, 

 and nail them down tight, and not use any 

 wire over the top-bars? 



7. Do you think the last plan mentioned 

 would be a little too chilly for them that 

 early in the season? 



8. When combs are very heavy with hon- 

 ey, should one side be extracted? 



9. About what will it cost to run a car- 

 load of bees and supplies a distance of 500 

 miles? 



10. How long will they be on the road? 



11. Should the bees be all placed in the 

 bottom of , the car, and the lighter stuff 

 placed on top? 



12. Should the front of the hives be placed 

 to the front or rear of the car? 



13. Should they be placed solid in the car? 



14. Is a man allowed to go with the car? 

 Friendly, Va. Samp. Williamson. 



[Yes; but we would advise piling the hives 

 upon straw, and packing straw between the 

 hives to cushion the jar or bumping of the 

 car. 



2. Yes; use a notched stick at the bottom 

 and two at the top. The notches should be 

 just wide enough to slip over bottom-bars 

 and top-bars of those used on top. Of these 

 latter, one should be used at each end, and 

 tacked down right over the rabbet. 



3. This is a hard question to answer, as 

 box cars vary so in size; but at a rough 

 guess I should say you could put at least 100 

 two story-chaff hives in an ordinary box car, 



and probably three times as many as the or- 

 dinary single walled hive. 



4. Use a box car in cool weather. In very 

 hot weather perhaps a cattle-car might be 

 better; but if the bees were to be exposed 

 to the hot sun for any length of time, the 

 box car, even in the hottest weather, would 

 be better. 



5. Do not use any chaff cushions on top 

 of the hives at the time they are being 

 shipped. If it is warm weather, the wire 

 cloth should be raised above the frames by 

 a rim two or three inches deep. 



6. You could do this; but if you have room 

 in the box car, chaff hives would be just as 

 well. In cold weather a piece of thin sec- 

 tion between the hive body and the lid or 

 cover would answer just as well, perhaps, 

 as wire cloth, and perhaps would be much 

 cheaper to apply. 



7. No. I do not think the single-walled 

 hives wou'd be too cool in your climate un- 

 less you were going to a place where it is 

 very cold. 



8. Yes, or take them out entirely and put 

 in other combs not quite so heavy. 



9. This question can not be answered, be- 

 cause you do not state in what direction nor 

 on what road the bpes are to go. Your 

 agent ought to be able to give you definite 

 information on this point. 



10. Your agent could answer this question 

 also. 



11. The bees should be placed on a thin 

 layer of straw to cushion them, as explained 

 in No. 1. The hives should not be piled 

 high — at least not more than two or three 

 high, and losver if you can get sufficient 

 room without tiering up. 



It makes no difference which way the 

 hives face, so long as the frames are paral- 

 lel with the rails on which the cars run. 

 This is very important. Do not make the 

 mistake of putting the frames at right an- 

 gles to the rails. 



13. The hives should be cushioned between 

 each other with straw. 



14. Yes, a man can go with a car.— Ed.] 



BEE-SPACES BETWEEN SUPERS. 



Do you recommend a bee-space between 

 the supers? This is a great question with 

 me. Some recommend it, and some don't, 

 so I will take your word for it. 



Helena, Mo. E. Trachsel. 



[By all means have bee- spaces between 

 your supers. I do not know of any modern 

 bee-keepers at the present time who would 

 dispense wi th them. All factory- made hives, 

 so far as I know, are provided with them. 

 A hive constructed without them would be a 

 fearful bee-smashing affair, to say nothing 

 of the time it would consume in handling it. 

 -Ed.] 



comb attached to separators. 

 For two years my bees have been deter- 

 mined to build the honey on to the separa- 

 tors, and so spoil my sections for market. 

 Now, what is the reason for that? Some 



