228 AUSTBALASIAN 



cage, and tack this on after the bees are in, groove down, next 

 the wire cloth, to give ventilation at the ends when the cage is 

 wrapped for addressing. 



Another shipping cage (Fig. 107), invented and used by Mr. 

 Benton, has been successful in conveying queens safely from 

 Europe to America, the trip occupying twenty-four days. Mr. 

 A. E. Bonney, of Adelaide, writes me that he has used it with 

 great success. Mr. A. I. Boot gives the following description 

 of it in Gleanings, from which the illustration has been taken : — 



" The cage is made of some tough wood resembling pine. The 

 board is planed on both sides, and then cut up in pieces 2| by 4 inches. 

 The cage shown contained two queens when it was sent. The holes 

 bored in the piece of wood are ljin., and are bored nearly through. 

 They come so near each other that passages are cut with a penknife 

 connecting them ; that is, each three are connected in this way. One 

 of the holes at each end row of three is coated with melted wax, and 

 then filled with the usual candy made of powdered sugar and honey. 

 No water is used, but abundant ventilation is given in several different 

 ways. Only one of the three holes is ventilated, however, viz., the one 

 in the end opposite the one containing the candy. The middle hole in 

 each row has no ventilating passages. It would seem that this affords 

 the bees an opportunity of choosing one of the holes that is much 

 ventilated, or the central, where there is but little ventilation. A few 

 bees could keep pretty warm in one of these round holes, especially if 

 they choose the one without ventilating-holes. 



" The cage is so made that, even when cramped in the mail bags, 

 the holes cannot well all get closed. It is for this reason the grooves 

 are made in the side of the piece of wood. Ten holes about the size of 

 an ordinary darning needle are pricked through these side grooves into 

 this end hole. The spur of the bit makes another hole. . . . You will 

 observe two smaller-sized holes near the centre of the block. These 

 smaller holes are connected with a hole about as large as a gimlet 

 would make, shown partly at one end of the block. This also comes 

 out where the block is grooved or cut in. Five small holes are trade 

 through into this gimlet-hole, so these ventilating-vestibules at each 

 end of the block are both ventilated from two sides in such a way that 

 the ventilating-holes cannot well get stopped up. A cover of wood 

 about an eighth of an inch thick is tacked over the holes when com- 

 pleted. I do not know how friend B. gets in his queen and bees 

 unless he lays the wooden cover on the block so as to partly close the 

 holes, and then puts in the bees and queen one by one, after which he 

 slides the cover on and fastens it with wire nails." 



It conduces to safety to cage the queen and bees the evening 

 previous to mailing them. There is one matter connected with 

 mailing queens that should be borne in mind, that is, the bees 

 and queens should be put up in such a way that there can be 



