108 AUSTRALASIAN 
yemain there about three weeks before bringing it back. 
By doing this very few bees would be lost. ; 
Where bees are to be moved in a cart or wagon a good thick 
layer of straw to stand the hives on will prevent jarring to a 
considerable extent. If movable comb hives, the frames should 
be secured so that they cannot move. 1 am frequently obliged 
to shift bees at Matamata, and I secure the frames by putting 
two end bars between each pair and wedging the last frame 
tight from the side of the hive. The bottom board is secured 
to the hive body by screwing two thin battens on each side to 
both parts, a strip of wire cloth is fastened over the entrance, 
and the cover is also made secure. The hives are prepared in 
this way over night and shifted as early as possible the next 
day. 
When moving bees in box-hives I have always practised the 
method recommended below to a correspondent of the New Zea- 
land and Australian Bee Journal, who applied for advice in the 
following manner : “ Ihave purchased 10 boxes of bees at a farm 
eight miles off. I want to get them over to my own apiary, and 
to put them into frame hives. The road is a rough one. I 
propose about the end of September to drive the bees from 
each box, and to bring them over here in empty boxes covered 
with cheese cloth; then to hive them on full sheets of 
foundation, and to utilise the old combs and honey as best I 
ean. They will most probably be a good deal broken up on 
the journey over. Can you advise any improvement on this 
plan ?” 
To this I replied as follows :—The present is a very good 
time to move bees in box hives, but we do not think the above 
is the best method that could be adopted, for several reasons. 
First, a good deal of brood would be destroyed, which at this 
time of the year is of greater value than later on. Second, 
you would need to feed liberally to get your foundation drawn 
out, and unless the colonies are very strong and the bees 
crowded together by division boards, very little comb building 
would go on for the next two or three weeks. If the bees are 
in common boxes we would advise you to adopt the following 
plan in preference to the one you suggest :—Take some scrim 
or cheese cloth, tacks, paper, and your smoker with you to the 
boxes the afternoon or evening before you intend to move 
them. Cut the scrim into pieces that will cover the bottoms 
