228 AUSTRALASIAN 
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 1s. 
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. Root gives the following description 
of it in Gleanings, from which the illustration has been taken :— 
“The cage is made of some tongh 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 l4in., 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 vet 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 rade 
through into this gimler-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 
