8 
A YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 
this way: I take a stick as long'as the width of the hive or a 
little less, 1 inch in width, and % in thickness ; on this I 
nail, with double-pointed tacks, a doubled piece of wire- 
cloth, so that the doubled edge shall project below the stick 
a half an inch. A single thickness of wire cloth would ravel. 
This projecting wire cloth covers the entrance to the hive, 
which is % inch high and the full width of the hive, and 
furnishes all the ventilation necessary, unless in very hot 
weather. The “ stopper,” as I call it, is fastened to the hive 
by driving a 1%-inch wire nail an inch or two from each end 
of the stick, and deep enough into the hive to hold firmly, 
then bending over the part of the nail not driven in, so that, 
as the nail-hole in the stick grows larger from frequent use, 
there will be no danger of the stick slipping back from its 
place. 
Before putting the hives on the wagon, I examine each one 
carefully on all sides, above and below, to be sure that there 
is no possible chance for a bee to get out anywhere. I gen- 
erally drive on a walk, but sometimes trot on a smooth piece 
of road. I have hammer and nails with me to provide 
against any contingency, and also a smoker, having the 
smoker lighted if I want to feel doubly secure. In case any- 
thing goes wrong on the road, which of late rarely happens, 
I unhitch the horse as quickly as possible, and leave him 
some distance from the wagon till everything is made secure. 
If a bee gets on the horse’s head, the first impulse of the 
horse seems to be to get to some place where he can rub. I 
immediately spring to his head, and with hands and arms 
rub over his head and neck, taking care that, in his efforts to 
rub against me, he does not knock me over with his head. 
When the hives are placed on their stands, in the out 
apiary, the two nails are drawn from the stoppers with a 
claw-hammer, and the stoppers very carefully removed. 
Sometimes I use a little smoke. 
