404 



American Vee Journal 



December, 1909. 



in separate sections, held together by 4 

 wire hooks on each end and one 

 square-headed wood-screw at the mid- 

 dle of each side at the bottom, to keep 

 them from spreading when being filled 

 with chaff. It is not strictly necessary, 

 although convenient for handling and 

 storing, that they should be made ad- 

 justable throughout. An adjustable 

 top and back is all that is needed for 

 placing the hives inside the shed. (See 

 back view. Fig. 2.) 



With the exception of a few smaller 

 ones, to use when the regular number 

 of colonies is not available, at the end 

 of a row for instance, all sheds are 

 made to accommodate 5 colonies each. 

 Several reasons induced me to make 

 them that size. It takes less work and 

 less lumber to make them, and, when 

 made, less work to use them; it does 

 not seem to take more time to fill a 

 shed with -5 than one with 3 colonies. 

 Then, the common length of lumber 

 cuts to better advantage for that size 

 than for any other, unless we make 

 them larger, which would not be desir- 

 able for convenient handling. Other 

 advantages could be enumerated, if it 

 were necessary. 



Taking a view of Fig. 3, the following 

 may serve as an explanation : 



The top row represents a row of 5 

 colonies of bees in summer position as 



they can be found in any up-to-date 

 apiary; the distance between them is 

 about 2 feet, which is necessary to give 

 the operator ample elbow room when 

 performing the various manipulations 

 in connection with modern bee-keep- 

 ing. The bottom row represents the 

 same •'> colonies in the position they 

 occupy when placed in their shed. It 

 will be noticed that they have to be 

 moved quite a little distance to produce 

 this change, and if this was done at one 

 operation, changing location and ap- 

 pearance at the same time, many bees 

 would be lost. To make this plain, let 

 me digress a little. 



Bees mark and know their home by 

 location. Appearance has a little bear- 

 ing on their observing faculties, but in 

 comparison with the former, it is of 

 little consequence. For instance, if 

 we should paint a white hive black 

 during the night, it would confuse the 

 incoming bees next morning very lit- 

 tle. They might be somewhat surprised 

 at first, perhaps be a little suspicious, 

 but they would soon enter their hive as 

 usual. But if we should move a hive a 

 short distance to the right or left, and 

 watch the bees next day, we would see 

 many of the flying bees hovering over 

 their former stand, looking for their 



home, and if other hives of the same 

 appearance were nearer than their own 

 many bees would enter them and be 

 lost. It would take some time until all 

 the bees would be fully acquainted with 

 the change. Now let us make the two 

 changes at once — paint and move the 



D D D D D 



D DDD D 

 DDDDD ■ 



Fig 3. 



hive at the same time — nothing short 

 of complete bewilderment would be 

 the result. 



To save all our bees (and we have 

 none too many at that time) we should 

 take this feature of bee-nature into con- 

 sideration when changing our bees 

 from summer to winter location. The 

 middle row of Fig. 3 shows the first 

 change that should be made. Hives 2 

 and 4 are moved near the center hive 3. 

 They should remain in this position for 

 several days, until the bees have be- 

 come thoroughly accustomed to the 

 change. Then the two outside hives, 1 

 and 6, may be moved to their proper 

 places, which prepares them all for the 

 final housing. At the close of the last 

 honey-flow is the proper time to do 

 this moving. 



The best time of packing bees for 

 winter is during November, whenever 

 the weather is favorable. Cool nights 

 and mornings, when the thermometer 

 registers nearly freezing point, but no 

 frozen ground or frozen-down hives, 

 when the bees are well clustered in 

 their hives, no rain or snow on the 

 ground, dry weather overhead' and no 

 heavy wind — these are the features of 

 ideal weather for this work. 



When everything is ready for the job, 

 we may proceed in the following way: 

 Set the hives on the ground a little 

 ways back of their stands; clear the 

 ground for the shed bottom and place 

 it on suitable foundation blocks. Build 

 up shed with ends and front (see Fig. 

 2), and move the hives back to their 

 old place, which is now inside of the 

 shed. It takes only a few minutes to 

 do all this shifting about, and if it is 

 done carefully, without jarring the 

 hives, not a single bee will be seen 

 outside the hives during the operation. 



The drawing shows the hive on this 

 end of the row still on the ground. Its 

 telescope cover has not been removed 

 yet; when this is done, as it is the case 

 with the other hives, this last one may 

 be placed alongside of the others inside 

 of the shed. This completes the par- 

 ticular part of the work; the rest, ad- 

 justing back section, filling in chaff 

 and laying on cover, which can all be 

 done more leisurely, finishes the job. 

 The chaff should be about 3 inches all 

 around, and 6 inches over the top of 

 the hives. 



The entrances of our sheds are %x4 

 inches, and each one has a little flight- 

 board of about I'/ixG inches. A little 

 board is fastened over each entrance 

 by a screw at the upper end. letting the 

 lower end rest agamst the flight-board 

 and allowing it to be swung aside (see 

 drawing) when a free passage for the 

 bees is desired. But for common, dur- 

 ing cold wintry days, its object is two- 

 fold. When the wind is facing the 

 shed, it prevents a direct draft into the 

 entrance, which would cause a circu- 

 lation of too much cold air through the 

 hive. On pleasant but cold days it 

 also prevents the direct rays of the sun 

 tempting the bees to take a flight, when 

 they would be chilled before they could 

 return to their home. Many bees are 

 lost in this way. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



Bee-Keeping in Old Nexico 



BY B. A. HADSELL. 



Having a son who has lived in that 

 wonderland for years, and his glowing 

 accounts of its great possibilities as a 

 bee, farming, stock, and mining coun- 

 try, exciting my curiosity; and when 

 he reported that I had a grandson down 

 there, I could not resist longer a trip 

 of investigation. I have traveled almost 

 the entire length and breadth of our 

 sister republic, and must confess the 

 half has never been told, and so I will 

 give the readers of the American Bee 

 Journal the benefit of my investigation. 

 While I am supposed to be the largest 

 bee-keeper in the world, I believe there 

 are two or three others that have more. 

 I am a close observer, and have trav- 

 eled nearly all over the United States, 

 and if my experience is of any benefit 

 I will give it freely. 



I formerly supposed that the sage 

 district of California, the mesquite dis- 

 trict of Texas, and the mesquite and 

 alfalfa district of Arizona, could not be 

 excelled. But this trip, as seen from a 

 car window, by days of hard horseback 

 riding among the mesquite, and a con- 

 tinual series of blooming trees, shrubs, 

 vines, and herbs has changed my mind. 

 I have often been made to exclaim, "A 

 bee-man's paradise!" and I assure you 

 I will not '■ let you down " as other 

 writers have done when writing of the 

 good locations in the United States, by 

 saying at the wind-up that the territory 

 is already fully stocked! but, on the 

 contrary, I go hundreds of miles here 

 where there is not a single tame bee to 

 be seen. 



As yet, I have not had the privilege 

 of examining a colony of the native 

 bees which are stingless, but will try to 

 do so and report in my next letter. I 

 am now inspecting a section where the 

 temperature ranges from about 70 to 

 85 degrees, July and August being the 

 coolest, and April, May, and November 

 being the warmest months. The bees 

 gather honey every day of the year. I 

 am not prepared to say when the great- 

 est flow would be, as nearly every tree 

 and shrub produces bloom. The farmer 

 can plow, plant and harvest his corn 

 every day of the year. Usually only a 

 stick is used to plant. Some use a 

 wooden plow. I saw 3 crops on the 

 land at the same time, two of corn and 

 one of beans, as they plant between the 



