The Townsend Bee Book 15 
road was very rough, but not a comb was broken. If colonies have 
been in the hives two or three years, so that the combs are old and 
tough, such combs will stand a great amount of hard usage with- 
out breaking. After one has moved colonies by rail, and learned 
how much knocking combs stand without breaking, he will not 
be so worried about breaking them when moving with a team. 
To prepare strong colonies for moving, nail wire cloth over 
the entire top of the hive; fasten the screen on with pieces of lath; 
nail a strip of lath also over the entrance, as the bees will have all 
the ventilation they need through the top for so short a haul. If 
the hive has a loose bottom-board, this should be nailed securely. 
We go early enough in the afternoon to the yard to be moved to 
nail on bottoms and screens while the bees are still flying. Then 
toward night, after the flying is over for the day, a piece of lath 
is nailed over the entrance. The hives are then loaded on the 
wagon and drawn home in the night. After placing them on the 
stands that they are to occupy permanently, the entrance-blocks 
are removed immediately. Never keep bees confined in the hives a 
minute longer than is really necessary. There are many reasons 
for this that can not be given here. 
CHAPTER IV. 
Folding Sections and Putting in Foundation 
When folding sections, if any noise is heard, as of the wood 
breaking at the V groove, the section is too dry, and the whole 
stock sholud be dampened before more of them are folded. Even 
if the wood is not dry enough to break entirely at the V groove, 
it is weakened if this crackling noise is heard, and will always be 
fragile. 
When the wood is in just the right condition the section 
should fold without a particle of breaking at the point where the 
V groove cuts nearly through. If the work is done during the 
wet season or early spring, especially if the sections were kept in 
a room where there was no fire, it is probable that no dampening 
will be necessary. If this wood is not in the right condition, how- 
ever, all of the sections must be dampened to prevent breakage or 
frail corners. 
There is quite a knack in dampening sections so that they 
will be perfectly square when folded. It is very necessary that 
