240 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Mar. 15 



keeping- in view the arranging- for winter 

 packing, only about 4 per cent of all the col- 

 onies have to be handled at all. For in- 

 stance, take two rows of ten each, eight or 

 nine feet apart, with about two feet between 

 in the rows. Move Nos. 1, 2, 6, and 7 of the 

 back row ahead, and Nos. 4, 5, 9, and 10 of 

 the front row back (the length of a hive at 

 a time) until they all have reached their 

 corresponding spaces between those colonies 

 that were not moved. In this way only 

 eight of the twenty have to be handled; and 

 if we have a few extra stands to start in 

 with, so that each colony need not be pick- 

 ed up twice, a very few minutes each day 

 will accomplish the whole operation in less 

 than a week. 



The packing should be done before win- 

 ter sets in. I select some cool pleasant day 

 in November when bees are not flying. 

 When every thing is ready, boxes, chaflf, 

 etc., on the spot, the colonies that are to go 

 in one box are set on the ground in front of 

 their stands. These latter are then taken 

 away, and the bottom of the chaff-box put 

 in their places, using two blocks the same 

 height as the stands for foundation. As a 

 protection from below I spread two or three 

 thicknesses of carpet or burlap on the bot- 

 tom, not only to protect against cold, but to 

 guard against all possible jarring also, for 

 my aim is to make the change without 

 arousing the bees. The colonies are then 

 set back on this so prepared bottom; and if 

 every thing is done just right they occupy 

 exactly the same place they did on their 

 stands. After this the building-up of the 

 box, and filling in the chaff, is an easy 

 matter. If I wish to pack with upward ab- 

 sorbents and ventilation I fill in chaff level 

 with the hives; remove the honey-board, 

 and cover with quilts or blankets, and fin- 

 ish by filling the box with additional six 

 or eight inches of chaff. Laying on the 

 roof completes the job. 



The unpacking is done in very 

 much the same way, but in re- 

 versed order. The top is removed, 

 and all the chaff above the hives 

 gathered up. I put mine in large 

 sacks, store in a dry place, and 

 use again the next fall. The sides 

 and ends are then unscrewed and 

 laid flat on the ground to catch 

 the chaff that was used around 

 the outside, and as much from 

 between the hives, as possible. 

 After all the chaff and the differ- 

 ent box sections are taken care 

 of the colonies are again set on the ground, 

 the last remnants of the box removed, and 

 the old spot is once more ready to receive 

 the stands and bees. 



La Salle, N. Y. 



[But, friend Greiner, why do you think it 

 necessary to have your bees scattered so far 

 apart during the summer ? It economizes 

 room and steps to have the hives in groups. 

 The groups may comprise as many as eight 

 or ten hives; but usually a less number is 



P^ 



better. It is our practice to put our hives 

 in groups of four or five ; hives in a group 

 five or six inches apart, and the groups 

 about ten feet apart. If you practice the 

 grouping plan throughout the entire sum- 

 mer you will see its advantages, and save 

 the trouble and annoyance of shifting your 

 bees every fall and spring, to say nothing 

 of the loss you would save in bees. — Ed.] 



A BROOD-FRAME IMRODUCINQ-CAQE. 



What to Do when a Colony Refuses to Accept a 

 Queen. 



BV 



KINTNER. 



By reading Gleanings since 1879 I have 

 found a good many things in its pages that 

 are valuable. I should like to describe an 

 introducing-cage that might be a benefit to 

 some one. I will give some idea of my luck 

 in introducing queens. When Mr. Hutch- 

 inson advertised his Superior stock for sale 

 I sent him an order for a queen, and I lost 

 her in introducing. I wrote him my luck, 

 and he sent me another. She proved to be 

 a hybrid. I wrote him, and he sent me a 

 third queen. I then sent him money again 

 for a queen, and I lost that one. I wrote 

 him, and he sent another the second time, 

 and I lost her. I concluded not to say any 

 thing more; but Mr. Hutchinson wrote me 

 a letter afterward, and in answering him I 

 told my luck again. He answered me, and 

 said he wanted me to have something for 

 my money, and he sent me a third queen. I 

 lost that one. I then tried to cover the cost 

 of the last one, and sent him 75 cts. I then 

 saw I would have to devise some method of 

 introducing queens or I could never improve 

 my bees. I made a wire cage large enough 

 to take in an L. frame of brood, of which 

 the following are the general specifications: 



KINTNER'S BROOD-FRAME INTRODUCING-CAGE. 



The bottom and ends are made of tin 

 bent in a trough or square-box shape at 

 each edge, the proportion being a tin 4 

 inches wide with one inch turned up. An 

 L-shaped tin forms the sides of the top-bar, 

 but at each end of the double tin bent over, 

 so as to increase strength. All corners are 

 well soldered. Along the inner edges of all 

 these tins are small holes V inch apart, 

 used in sewing with foundation wire the 

 wire cloth which forms the sides of the 

 box. When a frame is placed in position,. 



