BEE MANUAL. 227 
_ putting some ordinary sugar into a mortar, a little at the time, 
and grinding it up very fine, then adding a little hcney while 
still grinding it till it is as fine as butter. It must not be made 
very soft, just so that it can be rolled into pretty firm balls 
without flattening out much when placed on a board. 
Fig. 106,—QUEEN SHIPPING CAGE, 
The cage I have been using lately, and found to answer very 
well, is similar to the one used by Mr. Doolittle (Fig. 106). It 
is made from a biock of wood 34in. long, 2in. wide, by 14in. 
thick. A 1din. hole is bored in the centre of the flat side of 
the block to within less than a quarter of an inch of going 
through. Two #in. holes are then bored in the edge, passing 
down within an eighth of an inch of the sides of the larger 
hole, but not breaking into it; these also go nearly through 
the block. A little very hot wax is poured into the small 
holes to give the wood a thin coating ; this prevents it absorbing 
the moisture from the food which is placed in these holes. A 
small hole is cut with a penknife from the larger into each 
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Fig. 107,—BENTON’S SHIPPING CAGE FOR TWO QUEENS, 
of the feed holes, and the latter are filled with food pressed 
in tight and corked. The wire cloth can be partly tacked 
on, leaving one corner open to put in the queen and bees ; 
about eight bees are sufficient to accompany the queen. To 
prepare it for mailing run a wide groove a quarter of an inch 
deep in a three-eighth inch batten the width and length of the 
