WINTER PREPARATION 159 



viding extra protection to the hives on their 

 summer stands have been used. The best plan 

 is to use some kind of packing box outside the 

 hive and fill the space between the hive and the 

 box with leaves, planer shavings or some sim- 

 liar material. "When bees are packed in this 

 manner provision must be made to leave the 

 hive entrance open so that the bees can fly out 

 on warm days and return again to the hive. 



If but a few hives are to be packed it is an 

 easy matter to make such cases of goods boxes. 

 If the beekeeper plans to operate extensively, 

 special packing cases should be made that are 

 of uniform size. The most widely used pack- 

 ing case holds four colonies with two facing 

 east and two to the west. F. W. Krouse of 

 Ontario is an extensive beekeeper who has a 

 separate packing case for each colony, and 

 leaves them in place the year round. This gives 

 ample protection against the changing weather 

 of spring and fall, as well as winter. 



