.'exas Beekeeping. 



37 



over the bees oi' each colony just before doing so, and as they rush 

 out they will mark their new location and very few will return to the 

 old place. Sometimes many do so, only to soon return to the new 

 place after not finding their hives at' the former location. It is im- 

 portant, too, to promptly change the. appearance of the old site as 

 much as possible by removing everything that may help the bees to 

 identify it should they return to it. If they do not give up their 

 search, and the number of returning bees is large, a hive with a comb 

 or two of honey, and some unsealed brood, should be placed so they 

 will find it. The nucleus so formed can then be taken to the new place 

 and united with another colony. 



TRANSPORTING LONG DISTANCES. 



Bees moved a mile and a half, or more, will not find their way back 

 to their old location, and such moving may be done at any time of the 

 year, with proper precautions. 



For hauling bees long distances, especially during warm weather, 

 more ventilation must be provided. This is done by removing the 

 cover of the hive altogether and covering the entire top of the hive 

 with screen wire cloth, tacked over a rim about two inches deep, to 

 allow clustering room for the bees above the frames. Very strong 

 colonies should be given an empty super covered with the screen wire 

 on top of the hive for this purpose. 

 Frames that are not of the self- 

 spacing kind must be securely fas- 

 tened before moving, preferably by 

 a stick of wood, notched to hold the 

 frames in place, tacked at each end 

 of the hives. The bottom, and all 

 hive parts, and the rims, or supers, 

 covered with screen wire, should be 

 securely fastened together, either by 

 nailing a thin cleat at each hive cor- '>:^^Sr-^- ~J 

 ner with shingle nails, or by means of long crate, or hive staples, 

 which can be secured from supply dealers. 



A spring wagon should be used in hauling bees, but an ordinary 

 wagon with a lot of coarse hay in the bottom of it, upon which the 

 hives are placed, will answer the purpose. Driving should be done 

 carefully, especially, over rough roads, to prevent breakage of the 

 combs and possible disaster to the colonies. If many colonies are to be 

 moved, long planks may be substituted for wagon beds. These will 

 serve in place of springs. The hives are preferably loaded so the 

 frames are crosswise of the length of the wagon, as the sidewise jars 

 caused by the unevenness of the roads is worse than the up-and-down 

 forward motions of the moving wagon. 



There should be taken along a bee-veil, bee-smoker, hammer, nails, 

 and other tools that may be needed, and the smoker should be kept 

 lighted and going and ready for an emergency. If the bees get too 

 warm and crowd against the screens, water should be sprinkled over 

 them to prevent them from suffocating and the melting of the combs. 

 It cools them and drives them away from the screens. 



