A YEAR AMONG THE BEES. 
7 
mer would. I can easily take them off the hive by slipping 
the cold-chisel under the tin and prying up. 
When the hives are put on the stands in the spring, the 
numbers are all mixed up. The first thing to be done is to 
enter upon the record-book these numbers. The first hive in 
the back row should be No. 1, the next No. 2, and so on ; but 
in the place of No. 1 stands perhaps 231, on the place of No. 
2 stands 174, etc. So, on the new record-book I write No. 1 
(231) on the first page at the top ; one-third the way down the 
page, I write No 2 (174), and so on. 
HAULING BEES. 
As soon as the bees have had a good flight, those that do not 
belong to the home apiary are ready to be hauled away. I 
like to get them away as soon as possible, but sometimes the 
state of the roads makes delay advisable. I haul them on a 
one-horse wagon, putting 3 hives into the wagon-box ; then a 
light rack, something like a hay-rack, on the box, holds eight 
more, making eleven at a load. A two-horse wagon with a 
hay-rack holds about twice as many, and I sometimes use 
one in hauling, but as I keep only one horse I generally use 
him alone. I formerly supposed that bees must be hauled 
on springs or on a couple of feet of hay, but Mr. T. L. Von 
Dorn, of Omaha, told me he hauled them on a hay-rack with 
neither springs nor hay, and since then I have done the same 
with perfect success. I don’t like to disturb the frames of 
the hives in any way before hauling them, as they remain 
firmer in place if their fastenings of bee-glue remain undis- 
turbed. 
To prepare the hives for hauling, nothing is done to the 
inside of the hive, the cover is taken off, and a piece of cotton- 
cloth or sheeting, large enough to cover the hive and project 
two or three inches at each side and end, is put on the hive, 
and the cover replaced. Then the cover is tied on by means 
of a strong cord or sheep-twine, going under the front cleat, 
then crossing like the letter X on the top and going under the 
back cleat. The entrance is closed by means of wire-cloth in 
